Digital Media and Youth Suicide: Analysis of Media Reporting on “Blue Whale” Case
Metadatos
Afficher la notice complèteEditorial
Universidad de Navarra
Materia
Suicide Media electronic Youth mental health Content analysis Internet Spain
Date
2021-05-31Referencia bibliográfica
Sánchez-Muros, P. S. & Jiménez Rodrigo, M. L. (2021). Digital Media and Youth Suicide: Analysis of Media Reporting on “Blue Whale” Case. Communication & Society, 34(3), 117-133. [https://doi.org/10.15581/003.34.3.117-133]
Résumé
The media play an important role in suicide prevention, which has
led to the development of media guidelines for reporting on
suicides. Engagement with such recommendations is analysed
here. A case study has been conducted of the “Blue Whale
Challenge,” an Internet “game” related to self-harm among
adolescents, and the public alarm triggered by the related media
coverage. Quantitative and qualitative content analysis was
carried out of the news stories published in Spain by the
mainstream digital media in 2017. The findings indicate the
widespread presence of malpractice (sensationalist language and
detailed descriptions of methods), which may contribute to
copycatting and indicate poor compliance with international
guidelines on best practice (such as providing information on
reliable and contextualised help resources available). These
results underscore the importance of including the role and
function of the media in the prevention of this public health
problem.