Digital Media and Youth SuicideAnalysis of Media Reporting on “Blue Whale” Case

  1. Patricia-Sonsoles Sánchez-Muros 1
  2. María-Luisa Jiménez-Rodrigo 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Granada
    info

    Universidad de Granada

    Granada, España

    ROR https://ror.org/04njjy449

Revista:
Comunicación y sociedad = Communication & Society

ISSN: 2386-7876

Año de publicación: 2021

Volumen: 34

Número: 3

Páginas: 117-133

Tipo: Artículo

DOI: 10.15581/003.34.3.117-133 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR lock_openAcceso abierto editor

Otras publicaciones en: Comunicación y sociedad = Communication & Society

Resumen

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.

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