Abstract
BackgroundPrevious investigations regarding the effects of suicide reports in the media on suicide incidence in Japan have been limited and inconclusive and, although Internet use has greatly increased, its influence on suicide is completely unknown. Thus, the relationship between newspaper articles about suicide, Internet use, and the incidence of suicide in Japan was examined.MethodsA linear model was fitted to time series data from January 1987 to March 2005 (218 months).ResultsConsistent with previous findings, the number of newspaper articles about suicide was a predictor of suicide among both male and female subjects. Internet use was also a predictor of suicide among males, probably because males spent more time online than females.ConclusionBecause this is the first, preliminary study examining the association between Internet use and suicide, further research is required to verify the present findings.
Highlights
Previous investigations regarding the effects of suicide reports in the media on suicide incidence in Japan have been limited and inconclusive and, Internet use has greatly increased, its influence on suicide is completely unknown
These four major Japanese newspapers are very similar in terms of content and reader profile; only circulation was used as a factor to assess the overall impact of suicide news [14]
With respect to female subjects, the number of newspaper articles about suicide in the previous month was a significant predictor of suicide (P < 0.001). These results suggest that, after controlling for other factors, an increase in the number of newspaper articles by 1 unit (× 106 distributed articles) will lead to an increase of 0.01% in the incidence of suicide among females
Summary
Previous investigations regarding the effects of suicide reports in the media on suicide incidence in Japan have been limited and inconclusive and, Internet use has greatly increased, its influence on suicide is completely unknown. The relationship between newspaper articles about suicide, Internet use, and the incidence of suicide in Japan was examined. In April 1986, an 18-year-old female singer committed suicide in Japan. The singer was very popular among the younger generation, especially teenagers, and news of her suicide came as a great shock. The coverage of this event was considered by many to be excessive This prompted the Japanese Suicide Prevention Association, who were aware of the danger of suicide reporting, to send letters to media companies requesting that they cease their coverage [11]
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