Examining the Self-Harm and Suicide Contagion Effects of the Blue Whale Challenge on YouTube and Twitter: Qualitative Study

Abstract

Background Research suggests that direct exposure to suicidal behaviors and acts of self-harm through social media may increase suicidality through imitation and modeling, particularly in more vulnerable populations. One example of a social media phenomenon that demonstrates how self-harming behavior could potentially be propagated is the blue whale challenge. Objective This paper aimed to investigate the way individuals portray the blue whale challenge on social media, with an emphasis on factors that could pose a risk to vulnerable populations. Methods We first used a thematic analysis approach to code 60 publicly posted YouTube videos, 1112 comments on those videos, and 150 Twitter posts that explicitly referenced the blue whale challenge. We then deductively coded the YouTube videos based on the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC) safe messaging guidelines as a metric for the contagion risk associated with each video. Results The thematic analysis revealed that social media users post about the blue whale challenge to raise awareness and discourage participation, express sorrow for the participants, criticize the participants, or describe a relevant experience. The deductive coding of the YouTube videos showed that most of the videos violated at least 50% of the SPRC safe and effective messaging guidelines. Conclusions These posts might have the problematic effect of normalizing the blue whale challenge through repeated exposure, modeling, and reinforcement of self-harming and suicidal behaviors, especially among vulnerable populations such as adolescents. More effort is needed to educate social media users and content generators on safe messaging guidelines and factors that encourage versus discourage contagion effects.

Types Of Self-Presentation In Russian Video Blogs

“…Researchers emphasize the fact that these types of videos have a negative impact on vulnerable populations by means of the socially viral effects, which occur when self-harming behavior is modeled and positioned as acceptable through video content. These effects are called suicidal infection, which teenagers and young adults are most susceptible to, especially when they see others using this behavior to achieve an attractive goal, such as attracting the attention of others (Khasawneh et al, 2020). Such practices are international in nature.…”

Impact of Web-Based Sharing and Viewing of Self-Harm–Related Videos and Photographs on Young People: Systematic Review

“…As young people frequently create their own content, guidance to increase safe and responsible depiction of suicide and self-harm image and video-based content are now needed to educate young people as well as media professionals. Recent analysis of videos related to the Blue Whale Challenge on YouTube has demonstrated that although these user-generated videos seek to raise awareness, most videos violate guidance around safe and effective messaging, further underscoring the need to educate social media users and content generators on safe content creation and the factors that may have either positive or negative impacts on vulnerable viewers [ 56 ]. Individuals have reported an awareness of the potential impacts of self-harm images and videos and as a consequence add trigger warnings to their own posts [ 9 ].…”

Automutilação e seus fatores determinantes: Uma revisão integrativa

“…No jogo, o sujeito era desafiado a cometer atos de automutilação e a publicar para os demais participantes. Uma vez dentro do jogo, era proibida a desistência e a última fase do jogo era o suicídio (Khasawneh et al, 2020).…”