Why Are Images of Violence and Suicide Dangerous?

There are countless studies on the positive and negative effects of social media on us from different perspectives. The fact that we cannot deny is that social media has become an indispensable part of our lives. Considering that quitting is not an option for the majority of the human population, the remaining option is learning how to use…

At this point, at the beginning of the issues on which the most consensus is reached, The way and effects of sharing content such as murder, violence and suicide. These contents, which are a great threat to public health, are more than you can imagine each of us. affects much more and much worse. But why, how?

Saying ‘it’s just video’ can even kill you or someone else

You might think I’m exaggerating. Unfortunately, research says the opposite. It would be more accurate to examine each content topic separately in order to better understand its effects, but to make a brief introduction; Violence, suicide and murder images and news that spread uncontrollably basically use these concepts. normalizes, makes it ‘contagious’ and in many cases it becomes a trigger.

Let’s start with violence…

Many studies over the years have proven time and time again that violent images and ‘detailed’ news have a huge impact on both children and adults. The points emphasized in these studies are as follows;

• Watching images of violence is directly related to increased aggression, depersonalization of violence and fear of crime.
• Violent content, although not the only reason, affects the tendency to violent crimes.
• Some people tend to imitate what they see in violent videos.
• Images of violence can reinforce the behavior of people who are already aggressors.
• There is a two-way relationship between viewing violent images and violent behavior; people who are prone to violence watch more images, and those who watch violent images are more likely to display aggressive behavior.
• Especially in children, the images of violence affect the feelings of depersonalization, tendency to violence and fear of the outside world much more.
• In addition to all these negative effects, the effect of all other social, cultural and environmental factors on violent behavior is naturally higher than the content of violence. However, the impact of the content is too great to be underestimated.

In short, this is what we see and normalize every day, and we do not see any harm in watching and sharing. Images trigger violence. For this reason, we need to stop being a part of the sharing and dissemination chain.

Also, a job ethical side exists. For example, as we share and disseminate images of a child being subjected to violence, we ensure that those images are always present. This means that the child who has been subjected to violence will continue to live for the rest of his or her life. it increases the likelihood of encountering the images and remembering the trauma over and over again. Likewise, there is a possibility that the trauma of another victim of violence will be repeated through images.

Suicide is much more dangerous

People’s decision to end their lives voluntarily and their implementation. This is the simplest definition of suicide. But when it comes to suicide, only It is not correct to proceed through ‘someone killing himself’. Suicide has many social, cultural, economic and psychological aspects.

By sharing a suicide video on social media, RTing a suicide news with details or adding it to our story We are also part of this cycle.. The story of how is quite impressive and shocking.

There are those of you who have read or at least heard of Goethe’s famous work The Sorrows of Young Werther, a German literary, politician, naturalist and painter. In this work, Goethe describes a love affair that ultimately leads his character, Werther, to suicide. However, the effects of the work are unfortunately quite bad. The readers of the book begins to kill himself by imitating said suicide. The massive increase and prevalence of suicide cases creates controversy, and the book is even banned in many places.

This is a situation that takes place in the literature as ‘fake suicide’. Emulation of suicide by people and especially what they see in any media content Attempting to implement suicide scenarios, It’s a sad truth, backed up by many cases. There are cases in our country that can be shown as proof of this…

In fact, many of the items we mentioned are valid for violence, especially in the case of images of suicide. But a bigger problem the way suicide news and images are presented. Think about any suicide news you come across on social media; ‘Striking’ titles such as ‘He couldn’t stand the pain, he killed himself’ and content with detailed explanations; As if that weren’t enough, photos and videos attached under those texts from time to time can create a perception that presents suicide as a solution to a problem.

Also like ‘He killed his family first and then himself with cyanide’. Contents in which the suicide method is given on the other hand, it guides those who are looking for a way to commit suicide.

The essence of the job; Suicide images and content trigger this behavior, from time to time. romanticizes it by making it ‘literary’ and places it in people’s subconscious as an option. That’s why everyone has to take their own responsibility to prevent the spread of such images.

Finally, the ethical aspect that we mentioned in the violence section is also valid here. In the suicide news Not including the name, not giving the way of death, the fact that these news direct the readers to the positive by approaching the suicidal ideation with a solution-oriented approach. needs. There is even a ‘suicide news’ guide published by the World Health Organization with many such details.

While murder footage has similar effects to violence, trauma is added to its effects on the viewer.

Murder videos are content that you can find literally anywhere on social media. Moreover, as with videos of violence and suicide, they too It is spreading at an alarming rate. Even if you don’t want to see it, it can appear in front of you out of nowhere.

Studies conducted on this subject not only explain the effects of these videos with some aspects similar to their violent content, but also draw attention to a different point; People who watch these images experience higher levels of trauma than those who witness them in real life.

A research conducted on this subject has shown that people watching videos of events involving murder or mass deaths. stress levels increased much more than those who witnessed the event, sleep problems and behavioral disorders up to paranoia shows that it is possible.

In addition, while the victim is presented as a ‘weak victim’ in the murder videos and news, the reasons for the motivation of the perpetrator are listed by listing. ’cause and effect’ language can be used. This too by normalizing murderous behavior It causes it to become a solution for people who experience similar situations.

As a result…

Watching a video of a suicide, violence or murder, or opening photos and looking at them over and over, may have made you say ‘it doesn’t affect me’. However, human psychology does not look at ‘ideas’. Even if it didn’t impress you, having that video circulating might attract someone else. may have driven him to suicide or made him the victim of a murder.

We are both the producer and the consumer of all the content available on social media. And by acting with this awareness, we need to take care to protect both ourselves and everyone around us.

Sources: reportingonsuicide.org, BMC (Biomed Central), Media Roles in Suicide Prevention: A Systematic Review, American Psychological Association, A Study on the Relationship between Violence Desensitization and Social Media