Typology and Impact of YouTube Videos Posted in Response to a Student Suicide Crisis: Social Media Metrics and Content Analyses (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND There is a growing trend of promoting suicide prevention in YouTube, but it is yet to know the types and characteristics of videos that can engage the audience effectively. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine how YouTube was used and its impacts in response to the recent spate of student suicides in Hong Kong. METHODS We conducted content and network analyses on the videos’ impact metrics and studied the comments on the videos related to the student suicides during the 2015/2016 school year. RESULTS 162 relevant YouTube videos by seven types of stakeholders were identified. Those top and popular YouTubers disclosing personal experiences of overcoming suicide risk (Papageno effect) generated significantly greater impacts. The influential YouTubers’ suicide prevention videos attracted different groups of viewers and generated more interactions among their viewers. CONCLUSIONS Influential YouTubers’ self-disclosure videos have a larger impact on youth suicide prevention.