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Updated
Reading 2 mins.
in collaboration with
Sabrina Philippe (Psychologist)
Medical validation:
September 14, 2022
For the first time, an American study shows the link between digital self-harm and an increased risk of suicide in adolescents.
This is a phenomenon that worries many experts. Young teens (12-17) who self-cyberbully – a practice of posting or sharing self-harming remarks online, such as bullying or hateful messages – are 9 to 15 times more likely to act. Disturbing results, published in the journal Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
5.3% of teenagers have attempted suicide
Among 15-24 year olds, suicide is the second leading cause of death in the world, behind road accidents. A dark observation, which is not ready to get better given the negative influence of screens on the mental health of the youngest.
Indeed, according to a recent American study conducted among 5,000 middle and high school students aged 12 to 17, nearly 9% of young people questioned said they had already engaged in digital self-harm at least once. 5% of teens even reported self-cyberbullying anonymously.
Regarding suicidal ideation, about 8% of teenagers say they have thought about taking action in the past year, while 5.3% say they have tried to take action.
According to the scientists, no significant differences in digital self-harm behaviors and suicidal thoughts or attempts were reported between genders and ethnicities.
In contrast, non-heterosexual youth, compared to the rest of the group, were more likely to think about death (24.4% versus 6.9%) and to attempt suicide (10% versus 4.9%).
” But to have this approach, there must be a basic malaise. It is the digital concretization of a devaluation already at work. The screen is ultimately just a means”, specifies Sabrina Phillipe, before adding “that in the event of digital self-harm, you must immediately accompany your child to a psychologist. “.
Suicidal thoughts: 12-year-olds are more at risk
Still according to the researchers, the youngest (12 years old) were the most affected by digital technology. They were therefore more likely to think about suicide than older students, but when they acted out, they were at the same level as the other age groups.
“When considering the marked increase in sadness and hopelessness among American adolescents over the past 10 years, our results provide another indicator that reflects a deterioration in mental health status among adolescents.”, concludes Professor Sameer Hinduja, co-author of the study, in a press release.
A conclusion, all the more worrying in view of the growing number of children “addicted” to social networks.
Young adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to be addicted to Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, according to a recent study published in the journal Information, Communication and Society.
Prevention work is essential, because the risk of suicide among the youngest is very real.