Exploring the Singularity Between Google Searches and Suicide Deaths After Celebrity Suicides
Keywords:
suicide death, Google search, imitation suicide, Werther effect, prevention monitoringAbstract
The purpose of this study is to suggest the need to strengthen suicide prevention monitoring for the mentally vulnerable by analyzing the specificity and relation between the suicide search volume of Google Trends and the number of suicide deaths according to celebrities' suicides. The focus of this study is on the high suicide death rates that occurred in specific months between 2019 and 2020. For analysis, data were extracted from raw data and provisional database from deaths due to Specific Cause of Death (intentional self-harm) by month and sex of the Statistics Korea from 2019 to 2020. In addition, Google Trends was analyzed to identify search volume big data based on search terms entered by users along with research reviews. The core of the analysis results is that the number of Google searches based on suicide search terms increased due to the suicide of celebrities, and the number of suicide deaths also increased. In this paper, it is argued that more specific follow-up measures are necessary to prevent further suicide, and as a countermeasure, continuous monitoring of suicide frequency searches in Google Trends after celebrity suicides and special attention are required along with observation of the mentally weak.
Downloads
References
Fu, K. W. & Chan, C. H. (2013). A Study of the impact of thirteen celebrity suicides on subsequent suicide rates in South Korea from 2005 to 2009. PloS One, Jan 16
Gunn, J. F. III. Goldstein, S. E. & Lester, D. (2020). The impact of widely publicized suicides on search trends: Using Google trends to test the werther and papageno effects. Archives of Suicide Research, 24(Suppl 1): 142–155.
Ha, J. & Yang, H. S. (2021). The Werther effect of celebrity suicides: evidence from South Korea. PloS ONE, Apr 28, 16(4): e0249896.
Korea Development Institute. (2018). Government prepares and promotes action plan to solve suicide problem. https:// eiec.kdi.re.kr/ policy/ material View.do? num=173303&topic=
Kristoufek, L. Moat, H. S. & Preis, T. (2016). Estimating suicide occurrence statistics using Google Trends, EPJ Data Sci, 5(1): 32
Lee, J. Y. (2020). Search trends preceding increases in suicide: A cross-correlation study of monthly Google search volume and suicide rate using transfer function models. Journal of Affective Disorders, Feb 1, 262:155-164
Martin, G. & Koo, L. (1997). Celebrity suicide: Did the Death of Kurt Cobain influence young suicides in Australia? Archives Suicide Research, 3: 187-198
NBCNews.com (July 10, 2020). Seoul mayor's apparent suicide sends shock waves through South Korea. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/seoul- mayor-s-apparent-suicide-sends-shock-waves-through-south-n1233397
Ministry of Health and Welfare. 2022 Suicide Prevention Guide Project. http://www.mohw.go.kr/react/jb/sjb030301vw.jsp?PAR_MENU_ID=03&MENU_ID=032901&CONT_SEQ=369211
Niederkrotenthaler, T. Braun, M. Pirkis, J. Till, B. Stack, S. Sinyor, M., et al (2020). Association between suicide reporting in the media and suicide: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ, 368: m75
OECD data. Suicide Rates. https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/suiciderates.htm
Pan American Health Organization (September 10, 2020). COVID-19 pandemic exacerbates suicide risk factors. https://www.paho.org/en/news/10-9-2020-covid-19-pandemic-exacerbates-suicide-risk-factors
Park, S. C. Na, K. S. Kwon, S. J., et al (2020). “Suicide CARE” (standardized suicide prevention program for gatekeeper intervention in Korea): An update. Psychiatry Investigation, 17(9): 911-924
Philips, D. P. (1974). The influence of suggestion on suicide: Substantive and theoretical implications of the Werther effect. American Sociological Review, 39(3): 340-354
Seghatoleslam, T. Habi, H. Abdul Rashid, R. Mosavi, N. Asmaee, S. & Naseri, A. (2012). Is Suicide Predictable? Iranian Journal of Public Health, 41(5): 39-45
Song, T. M. Song, J. An, J. Y. Hayman, L. L. & Woo, J. M. (2014). Psychological and social factors affecting internet searches on suicide in Korea: A big data analysis of Google Search Trends. Yonsei Medical Journal, Jan, 55(1): 254-263.
Stack, S. (1987). Celebrities and suicide: A taxonomy and analysis, 1948-1983. American Sociological Review, 52(3): 401-412
The Ministry of Health and Welfare. (2022). 2022 Suicide Prevention Project Guide.
http://www.mohw.go.kr/react/jb/sjb030301vw.jsp?PAR_MENU_ID=03&MENU_ID=032901&CONT_SEQ=369211
The KoreaTimes (November 29, 2019). What caused deaths of Sulli, Ha-ra and other K-pop stars?
https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/art/2019/11/732_279552.html
The KoreaTimes (July 10, 2020). Mayor's sudden death shocks Seoul citizens. https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/nation/2020/07/356_292633.html
The Statistics Korea (Jan 2019-Dec 2019)
https://kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=101&tblId=DT_1B34E17&conn_path=I2&language=en
The Statistics Korea (Jan 2020-Dec 2020)
https://kosis.kr/statHtml/statHtml.do?orgId=101&tblId=DT_1B34E17&conn_path=I2&language=en
Ueda, M. Nordström, R. & Matsubayashi, T. (2021). Suicide and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, Journal of Public Health, April 13: 1-8
United Nation. (2020). Policy brief: COVID-19 and the need for action on mental health. May 13.
World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/teams/mental-health-and-substance-use/suicide-data
Wray, M. Colen, C. & Pescosolido, B. (2011). The Sociology of suicide. Annual Review of Sociology, 37(1): 1-18
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
All papers should be submitted electronically. All submitted manuscripts must be original work that is not under submission at another journal or under consideration for publication in another form, such as a monograph or chapter of a book. Authors of submitted papers are obligated not to submit their paper for publication elsewhere until an editorial decision is rendered on their submission. Further, authors of accepted papers are prohibited from publishing the results in other publications that appear before the paper is published in the Journal unless they receive approval for doing so from the Editor-In-Chief.
IJISAE open access articles are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. This license lets the audience to give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made and if they remix, transform, or build upon the material, they must distribute contributions under the same license as the original.
