8
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
DOI: https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.55.07.1
How to Cite:
Lubenets, I., Kulyk, O., Lisnychenko, L., Naumova, I., & Chabaiovskyi, T. (2022). Influence of the digital space on suicidal
behavior of adolescents. Amazonia Investiga, 11(55), 8-18. https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2022.55.07.1
Influence of the digital space on suicidal behavior of adolescents
ВПЛИВ ЦИФРОВОГО СЕРЕДОВИЩА НА СУЇЦИДАЛЬНУ ПОВЕДІНКУ
ПІДЛІТКІВ
Received: May 2, 2022 Accepted: July 15, 2022
Written by:
Lubenets Iryna1
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2597-0356
Kulyk Oleksandr2
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5172-8996
Lisnychenko Lillia3
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2211-3105
Naumova Iryna4
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6643-0375
Chabaiovskyi Taras5
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1494-8196
Abstract
With the Internet now firmly established as the
main medium of communication in today’s
world, studying the effect of its various aspects
on the behavior of minors is now more relevant
than ever.
This article provides arguments in favor of the
need to study the phenomenon of cybersuicide
among adolescents in light of the rising number
of suicides among children in many countries in
recent years, including Ukraine.
The aim of this article is to study the role of the
digital space, namely the Internet, in the
reinforcement of suicidal ideation and intentions
among children and, ultimately, in driving them
to suicide.
To achieve this goal, a number of general and
special research methods for understanding
social realities were used, to ensure objectivity
and accuracy of obtained data, which was all the
more important given the nature of the subject.
The dangers of the pre-suicidal state (pre-
suicide) were examined, including from a
medical perspective. Particular attention was
1
Candidate of Sciences in Jurisprudence, Senior Researcher, Leading Researcher of Research Laboratory of Criminological Research and
Crime Prevention Problems, State Research Institute of MIA of Ukraine.
2
Doctor of Law, Professor, Chief of the Research Laboratory of Criminological Research and Crime Prevention Problems, State
Research Institute of MIA of Ukraine.
3
Candidate of Sciences in Jurisprudence, Leading Researcher of Research Laboratory of Criminological Research and Crime Prevention
Problems, State Research Institute of MIA of Ukraine.
4
Senior Researcher of Research Laboratory of Criminological Research and Crime Prevention Problems, State Research Institute of
MIA of Ukraine.
5
Candidate of Sciences in Jurisprudence, Senior Researcher of Research Laboratory for Criminological Research and Crime Prevention
Problems, State Research Institute of MIA of Ukraine.
Lubenets, I., Kulyk, O., Lisnychenko, L., Naumova, I., Chabaiovskyi, T. / Volume 11 - Issue 55: 8-18 / July, 2022
Volume 11 - Issue 55
/ July 2022
9
https:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
paid to behavioral tendencies common among
adolescents.
The authors arrived at the conclusion that the
digital space can both trigger suicidal thoughts
and intentions in adolescents with its content and
facilitate their committing suicide through
“support” or even encouragement from online
friends.
The authors stress that related content children
post on social media can help discover whether
they have been having suicidal ideation.
Arguments are given in favor of the need for
parents, teachers, and psychologists to monitor
said content to be able to provide timely
psychological help, including via the digital
space.
Key words: Internet, cybersuicide, adolescents,
self-harm, suicide, digital space.
Introduction
The Internet has become an integral part of the
life of modern society in general and children in
particular. The digital space has great potential
for facilitating the development and self-
realization of a child’s personality. Digital
libraries and museums, teaching, informational
and entertainment websites allow today’s school
students to download e-books, music, photos,
etc. Children use technology for communication
and leisure. In a word, the Internet is a part of life
for them, and the virtual world it offers – their
means of socializing. The Internet’s importance
in everyone’s life was only boosted by
COVID-19 lockdowns.
Social networks such as Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram and others – readily accessible
communication platforms – allow people to
maintain their social connections and thus fight
loneliness, and it’s just as true for lower age
demographics. Social media are now firmly and
permanently integrated into our everyday life, so
much so that a person without social media is a
rarity today. It is mostly online, within the virtual
space, that adolescents are socially active these
days.
While the digital space offers countless benefits,
neither can we ignore its negative aspects. Thus,
children in a number of European states,
including Ukraine, as well as in the United
States, China, and Japan often withdraw into the
virtual world because of their addiction to
gadgets and the Internet. Every day younger
generations spend over 5 hours in the digital
space on average, and some children are always
online (Kulyk, Lubenets, Kulakova, & Naumova,
2020). Secondly, as a result of being constantly
online, they run a greater risk of encountering
dangers that exist in the virtual world, from cyber
violence and fraud to drugs and encouragement
to commit suicide. The Internet, with children as
its active users, is among the most popular
channels for the spread of these destructive ideas.
The rising virtualization of our lives through the
use of digital technologies is having an impact on
the human psyche (especially among children),
resulting in the emergence of new phenomena
(e.g. Google amnesia, Facebook depression,
etc.). Social relationships have been affected as
well. We now have such new concepts as
“stranger friend,” “virtual friendship,” “virtual
love” as well as new kinds of online dangers and
risks like “cyberbullying,” “sexting,”
“grooming,” “cybersuicide,” etc. This multitude
of social relations has given birth to all sorts of
online communities, including destructive ones,
which promote murder or suicide and pose a real
threat to everyone involved in them, including
children. A number of new terms have appeared
in the English language to define these
phenomena, and they are now used universally,
and not just in academic circles. Among these
terms are cybersuicide (internet suicide), online
suicide, webcam suicide, net suicide packs,
digital self-harm, parasuicide, etc.
10
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Cybersuicide, or internet suicide, refers to the
conception and/or realization of suicidal ideation
through various channels of communication
online (Birbal et al., 2009). Webcam suicide is
suicide committed in front of a webcam. One of
its forms is online suicide, or deathcasting, which
involves streaming one’s death online. Examples
of such suicides have been covered in the media
(Walker, 2014) and in academic literature
(Phillips, Diesfeld, & Mann, 2019). Net suicide
packs are group suicides by users that met on the
Internet (Rajagopal, 2004). Digital self-harm, or
parasuicide, is any non-lethal self-damaging act
committed with the express intent to inflict
bodily injury or death. Parasuicide (self-harm)
includes both fatal suicide attempts as well as
actions with a low risk of death, such as cutting
or causing other harm to yourself (Comtois,
2002). Fake suicide is simulated or staged
suicide.
As we can see, there are many types of online
suicidal behavior, but the problem is much
broader than it seems and includes both suicide
as an act and suicide as a subject of discussion,
with the latter potentially capable of driving users
to perform certain actions, or of encouraging or
discouraging suicidal thoughts.
The goal of this article is to study the role of the
digital space (communication medium),
specifically the Internet, in the reinforcement of
suicidal thoughts and intentions among children,
and, ultimately, in their decision to commit
suicide.
Methodology
To achieve this goal and accomplish the tasks
this entails, the authors made use of general and
special research methods. Thus, the logical and
semantic method was used to determine
terminology associated with cybersuicide among
minors; formal logic was used to define the social
origins of the cybersuicide phenomenon among
children as well as the effect of the digital space
on the behavior of adolescents; sociological and
statistical methods were used for the analysis of
collected empirical data and official statistics; the
psychological method helped determine the
characteristics of children susceptible to suicidal
ideation (or suicidal behavior); and the sorting
and summarizing method was used to formulate
conclusions and general assessments as well as
recommendations on how to improve child
suicide prevention and stop the promotion of
suicide-related ideas among underage Internet
users.
Literature Review
The issue of child safety in the digital space has
been on the agenda of numerous institutions,
especially in recent years, including international
organizations, researchers from various fields of
knowledge, law enforcement agencies, media,
and public organizations of all levels.
Legal regulation of online relations and
information security of Internet users, including
children, were studied in the works of Zolotar O.
(2018), Nashynets-Naumova A. (2017), Lesko N.
(2017), Prypkhan I. and Artemovych I. (2014).
The main risks and dangers of the digital space
were examined by Vasylevych V. (2013),
Garkusha Yu. (2021), Kulyk K. (2016),
Osipenko A. and Solovyov V. (2019),
Richardson H. (2020), Rimer J.R. (2017).
Suicide among children was studied by Baume
C., Cantor C.H. and Rolfe A. (1997), Becker K.
(2004), Birbal R. et al. (2009), Phillips J.G. et al.
(2019), Dunlop S.M., More E. and Romer D.
(2011), Lee S.Y. and Kwon Y. (2018), Klyuchko
E. (2014), Lubenets I., Tolochko G. and
Naumova I. (2020), Soldatova G., Chigarkova S.,
Drenyova A. and Ilyukhina S. (2019) and others.
Thus, this article draws on the works of both
national and foreign researchers.
Plenty of research has also been done in regards
to the Internet’s impact on children’s behavior,
including suicidal behavior, which once again
demonstrates the relevance of this subject today.
Results and Discussion
Global statistics show that in the 15-19 age
group, suicide is the second most common cause
of death among girls (after pregnancy and
childbirth complications) and the third most
common among boys (after traffic accidents and
interpersonal violence) (Bega, 2019). Moreover,
the number of such incidents involving
adolescents is rising. Thus, according to the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the
number of suicides among children aged 10-14
has tripled over the past decade. Ukraine, where
the suicide rate is twice as high as in the EU, is
no exception here (Mori, 2021).
Ukraine’s Unified State Register of Pretrial
Investigations reports 97 suicides among
children in 2018, 111 in 2019, and 123 in 2020.
In 2021, 150 children committed suicide in the
first six months alone (Kovalevska, &
Gribanova, 2022), which is more than during the
entire previous year. It should be mentioned that
official statistics include only completed
Volume 11 - Issue 55
/ July 2022
11
https:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
suicides, not suicide attempts, of which there is
over a hundred for every completed suicide in the
age group under 25. Completed suicides make up
only 1% of suicide attempts among adolescents,
although one should keep in mind that every such
attempt threatens the child’s life.
When studying the issue of suicides among
adolescents, we must remember that adolescence
is accompanied by numerous physical,
emotional, social, and psychological changes in
the child. Unfulfilled (for various reasons)
expectations, whether academic, social or
family-related, could lead to feelings of rejection,
loneliness, and profound dissatisfaction with life.
Meanwhile, the lack of life experience, low
resistance to stress and high emotionality make it
difficult for children to approach the problems
they face rationally. When things go badly at
school or at home, the resulting developments
and stress often make adolescents overreact,
since physical and hormonal changes in their
body cause emotional instability, irritability and
low self-esteem.
Statistics show that 11% of adolescents under 18
suffer from depression-related disorders, girls
more than boys. The risk of depression increases
with age. Depression, anxiety, and behavioral
disorders are among the leading causes of illness
and disability among adolescents. Failure to
address mental issues in adolescence may not
only have negative effects that could manifest
even in adulthood, but may also cause suicidal
ideation in childhood. According to the World
Health Organization, major depressive disorder
is the leading cause of disability in the 15-44 age
range as well as one of the leading causes of
death in this age (Ministry of Health of Kirov
Oblast, 2022; WHO, 2021).
At the same time, about 80% of adolescents who
committed suicide had symptoms of PTSD or
displayed violent and aggressive behavior. Many
suicide attempts also result from abuse,
humiliation, e.g. bad experiences in school,
bullying (cyberbullying), interpersonal conflicts
with a romantic partner, etc. (World Health
Organization, 2006, p. 7).
Communication-related risks which many
adolescents face also play a major role in the
aggravation of pre-suicidal behavior. This is
especially true for aggressive communication,
ranging from rude, negative and cruel messages
online to extreme and traumatic cyberbullying –
systematic and deliberate aggression against
someone incapable of defending themselves.
Among the most dangerous and damaging risks
that have become commonplace in recent years
is the disclosure of intimate, defamatory,
offensive, and degrading information, obscene
offers, and sex-related violence online. This
includes sexting (intimate correspondence);
grooming (winning a child’s trust for the purpose
of sexual relations and exploitation); sexual
blackmail – threatening to make the victim’s
intimate photos public to extort additional
photos, videos, or sexual favors; revenge porn –
disclosing intimate images and videos without
the consent of the person featured in them,
posting ads saying that the victim offers sexual
services, etc. (Soldatova et al., 2019, p. 12).
It’s worth mentioning that revenge porn is not yet
criminalized in Ukraine, while in a number of
other countries (France – Art. 226-2-1 of the
Criminal Code, UK – Art. 33 of the Criminal
Justice and Courts Act, 2015, Canada – Art.
162.1 of the Criminal Code, 1985 and others) it
is a criminal offense.
The above-mentioned risks can be encountered
when communicating via chats, messengers
(WhatsApp, Telegram, Skype, etc.) social
networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), dating sites,
forums, and blogs. Virtual violence makes
adolescents experience stress and depression
because of their inability to solve a problem. In
this state, in order to overcome emotional and
psychological pain, fear, feelings of helplessness
and loneliness, children sometimes direct their
aggression against themselves, often using
information on ways to inflict harm that they find
on the Internet. Self-destructive behavior which
manifests itself in intentional infliction of
physical damage to oneself, one’s own body, is
called self-harm.
One example of this is the Blue Whale death
group (more on them below) whose members
make cuts on their bodies. Photos of such cuts
have been showcased in numerous media outlets
and Internet forums, which only serves to
increase the popularity of these groups among
adolescents.
The Internet has been a fertile environment for
the spread of self-harm-related information,
further contributing to the rising interest for this
practice. Studies say, 87% of psychiatric patients
with a history of self-harm saw images of self-
cutting online, at the age of 11 on average, before
they started doing it themselves (Soldatova et al.,
2019, p. 114 ).
Soldatova G. and her co-authors (2019,
p.p. 109-110) note in their work that most
12
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
adolescents and young adults have seen content
related to self-destructive behavior on multiple
occasions. Two-thirds of the respondents have
seen such content online, 65.9% of them have
encountered advice on how to commit suicide,
and 72.5% have seen content on ways to inflict
physical damage and pain on themselves. Most
frequently such content draws the attention of 15-
17-year-olds (75%). After the age of 18, the
interest gradually weakens (68%).
Thus, there is a whole number of factors that
could drive an adolescent to commit suicide
(resentment, loneliness, feeling misunderstood,
death of a loved one, lack of parental attention,
problems at home, fear of punishment, romantic
problems, pregnancy, revenge, imitation, need
for attention, etc.), and it’s often exacerbated by
alcohol and drug abuse, Internet addiction, being
stigmatized when reaching out for help, as well
as the availability of means of committing
suicide. Under these circumstances, the digital
space, including online news sites, social media,
suicide-themed sites, and other similar online
platforms and content can play a major role in
reinforcing an adolescent’s suicidal ideation.
The importance of information technologies and
the Internet in today’s society cannot be denied.
The digital space has become part of almost
every aspect of our lives, from health care to
education and leisure. Suicidal behavior is no
exception here, as it has also changed under the
influence of the Internet, especially among
adolescents who are its most active users.
It should be noted that so-called “suicide clubs”
have existed since ancient times and in many
eras. However, unlike their predecessors,
contemporary suicide communities:
− are considerably more numerous;
− have no geographical boundaries and are not
bound to a particular place;
− allow any person of any age to join (with
some rare exceptions) (Klyuchko, 2014,
p. 69).
As mentioned above, cybersuicide is something
that exists in many countries. It emerged with the
advent of the Internet and continues spreading
online. The term cybersuicide in relation to
suicide and its propaganda on the Internet was
proposed back in 1997 by Pierre Baume and his
co-authors in their work “Cybersuicide: the role
of interactive suicide notes on the internet.” Ria
Birbal and co-authors (2009) point out in their
work “Cybersuicide and the adolescent
population: challenges of the future?” that
cybersuicide is associated with websites that lure
in vulnerable members of society and teach them
how to inflict self-harm and commit suicide. The
ease of access to the Internet and the speed at
which information travels online facilitate the
spread of such propaganda, drawing the attention
of adolescents.
Numerous studies of the influence of the virtual
space on suicidal behavior among adolescents
and young adults have shown that the Internet
often contributes to the risk of suicide among
children due to their impressionability,
suggestibility, emotional volatility, their ability
to feel and experience everything more vividly,
their tendency toward conformism and imitation,
weak critical thinking, egocentric aspirations,
and impulsive decision-making. Dunlop S. and
co-authors (2011) arrive at this conclusion in
their study “Where do youth learn about suicides
on the Internet, and what influence does this have
on suicidal ideation?” after establishing
empirically that suicide-themed discussion
forums and other online platforms significantly
strengthen young people’s suicidal ideation.
Moreover, it’s easy to find content on the Internet
that promotes suicide and provides instructions
on how to do it, and it’s just as easy to find
forums and chat rooms dedicated to the
discussion of suicide as well as to join so-called
death groups, the users of which promote and
develop suicidal ideas and plans. After all,
children usually seek in the virtual world that
which they have been unable to find in the real
one, among people closest to them, namely
support (a death group member admitted as much
(Kovalevska, Gribanova, 2022). Many of the
victims simply don’t stand a chance with their
virtual “friends” and online audience urging
them on, openly encouraging their thoughts of
suicide.
19-year-old Abraham Biggs from Florida
announced his plans to commit suicide on a
bodybuilding forum in 2008 and streamed it live
over a webcam. He said he was considering death
by overdose. His post sparked a mixture of
concern, jokes, and encouragement. About 1,500
people watched for 11 hours as Abraham was
dying from a drug overdose. With 1,500
witnesses, only 4 attempts were made to help him
(by looking up contact details of Miami police to
make a phone call or send them an email).
However, by the time authorities were notified,
the boy had already been dead (Phillips et al.,
2019).
Volume 11 - Issue 55
/ July 2022
13
https:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
James G. Phillips and his co-authors describe
cases involving online suicides in their work
“Instances of online suicide, the law and
potential solutions” (2019) and say that the
Internet allows users to create their own suicide
content, with the audience watching suicidal
behavior (e.g. death leaps or other life-
threatening acts), commenting on it and
discussing it while the person streams the event
online or takes selfies of their death. The authors
noted a rising number of suicides involving
jumpers who decided to end their life after
watching related content on the Internet. They
cite the tragic deaths of Dylan Yount in San
Francisco, United States, and Shaun Dykes in
Derby, UK, which were accompanied by
audience reactions on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr,
Yelp, and YouTube. In both of these cases, the
victims felt there was no going back for them. In
Dylan’s case, online comments and anonymous
voices from the crowd gathered below were
urging him to jump as he was standing on the
ledge (Phillips et al., 2019).
In light of the above, we can say that the virtual
environment, on one hand, can induce suicidal
thoughts in a person (through the influence of
suicide-related content online), and on the other
hand, can drive a person to suicide through
“support” and encouragement from a virtual
audience (influence of virtual contacts). Thus,
Internet platforms such as Instagram, Twitter,
YouTube, Facebook, Skype, WhatsApp, and
Telegram serve as a tool for people with suicidal
ideation for finding like-minded individuals and
forming groups, as well as a tool for encouraging
others to commit suicide.
Particularly relevant in this regard is the work of
S.Y. Lee and Y. Kwon “Twitter as a place where
people meet to make suicide pacts” (2018). The
authors monitored Korean tweets containing the
term “suicide pact” on Twitter. After 43 days of
research, they found 1,702 tweets posted by 551
users who sought to make a suicide pact. Many
of the tweets contained detailed contact
information, including the user’s city, gender,
age, preferred method of communication, and
preferred gender of the partner. This study
demonstrates that social networks such as
Twitter are popular venues for finding partners
for a suicide pact (Lee & Kwon, 2018, р. 21).
An example of the second aspect of the Internet’s
role, i.e. encouraging suicides, is the suicide of a
16-year-old girl from Malaysia (2019) who took
her own life after doing a survey on her
Instagram page, asking whether she should go on
living. According to the police, at one point 69%
of the votes were in favor of her death. A similar
tragedy happened to 14-year-old London
schoolgirl Molly Russell who took her own life
in November 2017. Before her death, she was
reportedly browsing posts on social media
related to self-harm, depression and suicide
(BBC News, 2019).
So why does online communication, often with
complete strangers that could be on the opposite
side of the globe, have such a powerful effect on
young Internet users?
To answer this, we should consider children’s
personal space in real life and the virtual one,
which, in our opinion, Galina Soldatova
demonstrated very well in her work (2017). We
can see that the child’s personal space offline and
online is not the same – it gets rearranged.
Table 1.
Comparison of the child's personal space offline and online
Real life
Virtual life (online environment)
Me Family Friends Acquaintances Adults Strangers
Me Friends
“Stranger friends” (online friends) Acquaintances Family Adults
As the table shows, FRIENDS take center stage
in the child’s personal space online.
Acquaintances, who in real life are just one
position below friends, give way to online
friends, who are essentially strangers, while
family (parents and siblings) and professional
help (adults) trail behind.
We believe, this rearrangement occurs due to a
desire to build new social connections, which is
much easier done in the anonymous Internet
14
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
environment, especially for a shy teenager with
difficulties in communication and interpersonal
relationships. When faced with a crisis and
unable to find support among those closest to
them, children try to find the understanding and
comfort they need in the virtual space, where all
they have are virtual friends that act in
accordance with with their own interests, moods
and perspectives. It’s all too easy for such friends
to click “death” in a survey, and adolescents in a
pre-suicidal state are highly sensitive to such
things and often perceive them as a call to action.
To clarify: pre-suicide is the period between the
onset of suicidal ideation and the attempt to act
on them. During this time, the person experiences
constant depression, dark thoughts, and growing
dissatisfaction with their living conditions
(Klyuchko, 2014, p. 69).
The 11th revision of the International
Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) has suicidal
ideation under code MB26.A. It involves suicide-
related thoughts and ideas, from merely thinking
that you would be better off dead to making
complex plans to take your own life (ICD-11 for
Mortality and Morbidity Statistics, 2022).
Thus, people having such thoughts, including
adolescents, require medical help as it is
extremely difficult to deal with this problem on
your own.
The content that members of suicide clubs post
on their social media shows that they suffer from
depression and loneliness. This makes them
particularly suggestible and susceptible to dark
moods, which is characteristic of the pre-suicidal
period (Klyuchko, 2014, p. 69). Most people at
this stage try to draw the attention of others to
their plans and problem by talking or posting
about their wish to die on their social media or
other Internet platforms. When adolescents post
about it or do streams for other members of death
groups, they seldom hear any objections. On the
contrary, the audience usually supports their
intentions in every way by sharing how and
where it would be best to commit suicide, etc.
Their encouragements are accompanied by
recommendations of various thematic attributes:
music, books, videos, pictures, etc. This
normalizes suicide in the eyes of adolescents,
making them think they “get” something that
most others don’t.
It must be said that information technologies can
also be used for combating suicidal ideation and
preventing suicide (e.g. hotline websites that
provide psychological help online), but they are
not as popular as they should be.
We agree with James G. Phillips and his
colleagues who said in their 2019 work that
social media also provide the means for desperate
people to draw attention to their suffering. The
problem is though that pre-suicidal people who
announce their plans to commit suicide online are
very likely to see approval, not objections, or end
up in a death group, especially when you are
young and vulnerable. Administrators of these
groups often find new members by discovering
their dejected posts on the Internet.
Unfortunately, in recent years Ukraine has also
seen a growing number of death groups – online
communities, usually on social media, in which
adolescents play a kind of “game” that involves
performing various traumatic tasks (like cutting
your hand with a blade and recording it on video).
It starts with the group administrator giving
members from 13 to 50 tasks (the number is up
to the administrator), but the ultimate goal is to
goad children into committing suicide on camera.
According to the police, the administrators then
sell these videos on the Internet or on DarkNet
(Parkhomenko, 2019). This is how Blue Whale,
Red Owl, Quiet Home, Run or Die, Wake Me Up
at 4:20 and other death groups operate.
Cybersuicide has become a trend among minors.
The peak of the popularity of suicide games
among Ukrainian adolescents was recorded in
late 2016 - early 2017. Back then, Ukrainian
cyber police discovered about 1,000 death groups
(TSN, April 25, 2017). In early September 2019,
media reported a new kind of death groups, now
in the form of anime communities, with
administrators encouraging children to commit
suicide using anime (Japanese animation)
images. The psychological tricks here are similar
to those used by the Blue Whale administrators.
A survey we conducted among students of
secondary schools shows that 81.8% of them are
aware of the existence of death groups. The
percentage of girls who know about such groups
is slightly higher than that of boys (85.4% and
77.2%). The older the children, the more
informed they are in this regard (75.8% among
12-year-olds and 86.4% among 17-year-olds).
16% say they have received offers to participate
in extreme games while talking on social media.
What is particularly concerning here is that 8.4%
are willing to take part in such games while
another 7.9% say they might consider it. This
latter group, in our opinion, could be convinced
to try it with professional psychological
manipulation (Lubenets, 2020, p. 185).
Volume 11 - Issue 55
/ July 2022
15
https:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Just like death groups, Internet challenges have
become a popular form of entertainment among
adolescents on social media that can lead to
irreparable harm to the health and even life of a
child. Challenges are a genre of Internet videos
in which an influencer performs a certain action,
records it on video, and uploads it, and then
challenges friends or followers to do the same.
The most dangerous recent challenges include:
− fire challenge;
− tripping jump challenge;
− skull-breaker challenge;
− tide pods challenge;
− Momo suicide game;
− choking/fainting/pass-out challenge;
− blackout challenge;
− outlet challenge;
− Drake - “In My Feelings” challenge;
− pass out prank, shocking games, etc. (Osvita,
2021).
Displaying such acts on the Internet puts
underage users at risk, since imitative suicidal
behavior among adolescents stems from their
tendency to copy the patterns of behavior they
see around them, such as in the actions of people
in their circle (friends, family, acquaintances),
events covered by media and on the Internet,
stories popular among teenage subcultures, etc.
As we have already mentioned, adolescents are
highly suggestible, which explains cases of mass
suicide. The phenomenon when a suicide widely
covered by media or depicted in a popular book
or film is followed by a wave of emulative
suicides is referred to as the Werther effect, or
Werther syndrome. This phenomenon was
described in 1974-1975 by David Phillips,
American sociologist from the University of
California, San Diego, who studied the wave of
emulative suicides that happened in Europe in
late 18th century shortly after the publication of
Goethe's popular novel The Sorrows of Young
Werther (Kashcheyeva, April 15, 2016).
It should be mentioned that death groups and
some of the challenges became popular mainly
due to coverage by the media, including Internet
media, and influencers, as well as through active
discussion on social media among teenagers.
Thus, it’s not just the content circulated among
these death groups that is dangerous, but also the
content about them, about the way they operate
(including pictures and videos on this subject) –
such information is no less dangerous to children
in a pre-suicidal state. In its Resource for Media
Professionals, the WHO stresses the danger of
making suicide-related content easily accessible.
Journalists are advised to adhere to certain rules
when covering suicides:
− don’t glorify or romanticize death;
− don’t publish photos and suicide notes;
− don’t give specifics regarding the method,
circumstances, or location of the suicide;
− don’t try to sensationalize suicides; avoid
expressions like “epidemic of suicides,” etc.;
− avoid covering high-profile suicides,
especially where celebrities are involved;
− don’t use religious or cultural stereotypes in
descriptions (World Health Organization,
2006, р. 20; World Health Organization,
2017; Garkusha, 2021).
The need for these rules is illustrated in Katja
Becker’s work “Internet chat rooms and suicide”
(2004), according to which the number of
suicides increases in proportion to the number of
outlets that cover it and the duration and
popularity of the coverage. The author also
stresses that suicide-related news are especially
likely to cause new suicides among adolescents.
Therefore, the rules for covering suicide-related
events are necessary for the prevention of new
suicides.
At the same time, we should not forget about the
positive applications of the digital space,
particularly for providing online assistance to
adolescents experiencing personal crises,
depression, or pre-suicidal state, or to those who
recently attempted suicide. In some cases, online
help could be even quicker and more effective
than regular one. According to adolescents that
have tried to commit suicide, it’s easier for them
to speak about their suicidal intentions on the
Internet than face-to-face or on the phone. The
darkest thoughts often visit them at night, and
even though they desperately need someone to
talk to in these moments, to unburden
themselves, most of them don’t want to wake
their parents up or scare them with such
conversations. This is why online consultations
appeal to children more (Proulx, 2021).
Psychologists also believe that children who
survived a suicide attempt could benefit from
helping their peers deal with similar issues.
Knowing that they were there for someone, that
they were able to share some advice could help
them overcome their own problems. It’s the
principle of helping yourself by helping others at
work.
As for parents, rather than criticizing children for
spending too much time online, it’s better to ask
16
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
them what platforms they like and what kind of
content they are interested in. This will help
establish a real connection with the child, start a
conversation about their problems, and possibly
discover or prevent suicidal intentions.
Conclusion
To sum up, cybersuicide and related phenomena
appeared with the invention of the Internet,
which to this day is used as a tool for promoting
suicidal behavior, including among adolescents.
Analysis of national and foreign studies on the
impact of the digital space on adolescent suicidal
behavior shows that suicide-related discussion
forums, chats, and other Internet platforms serve
to strengthen suicidal ideation and may
ultimately drive a child to suicide.
The ease of access to the Internet and the rate at
which information is shared online facilitate the
promotion of suicide, drawing in adolescents
who are among the most active Internet users.
Active promotion of suicidal behavior on social
media, messengers, forums, and other Internet
platforms, as well as the ability to generate your
own suicide-related content or become part of a
“support” group – all this makes cybersuicide
fashionable among adolescents. Propaganda of
destructive behavior and suicidal ideas often
relies on gamification, as in the case of Blue
Whale, Red Owl, Wake Me Up at 4:20, and other
death groups.
Since the media, including online media, play a
significant role in the growing popularity of
suicidal behavior, WHO guidelines for media
professionals should be made mandatory by
introducing a mechanism that would allow
holding journalists responsible for violating
these guidelines without violating freedom of
speech.
Given how many different motives there can be
for committing suicide, the content that
adolescents post on their social media should be
considered a potential indicator of suicidal or
quasi-suicidal tendencies. This requires special
attention for these adolescents from their parents
and teachers, both in the context of providing
psychological assistance and for facilitating and
monitoring children’s cyber socialization and
media security (Shchetinina, 2018).
An important thing to remember is when
adolescents join suicide groups in the virtual
world, they are actually looking for support.
Therefore, we must organize and promote 24/7
online psychological help for children that are
going through a crisis. Also, since in the virtual
world adolescents mostly socialize within a
circle of online “friends,” the key component of
suicide prevention is their family’s attention,
love, and involvement in their lives. Ultimately,
many adolescents feel very lonely in the digital
space.
Bibliographic references
Baume, C., Cantor, C.H., & Rolfe, A.  (1997). 
Cybersuicide: the role of interactive suicide
notes on the internet. Crisis,  18(2), 73-79.
Recovered from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9286130/
BBC News (2019). Posts about suicide on
Instagram: how to react and what the network
itself is doing about it. Recovered from
https://www.bbc.com/russian/features-
48293907
Becker, K. (2004). Internet chat rooms and
suicide. Journal of the American Academy of
Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 43(3),
246-247. Recovered from
https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-
200403000-00002
Bega, V. (September 10, 2019). Every 40
seconds there is a suicide in the world –
WHO. T hromadske. Recovered from
https://hromadske.ua/posts/kozhni-40-
sekund-u-sviti-stayetsya-samogubstvo
Birbal, R., Maharajh, H., Birbal, R.,
Clapperton, M., Jarvis J., Ragoonath, A., &
Uppalapati, K. (2009). Cybersuicide and the
adolescent population: challenges of the
future? Int. J. Adolesc. Med. Health, 21(2),
151–159. Recovered from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19702194/
Comtois, K.A. (2002). A Review of
Interventions to Reduce the Prevalence of
Parasuicide. American Psychiatric
Association Publishing Powered by Atypon
Literatum. Recovered from
https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ps.53.9.1138
Criminal Code of Canada. 1985/ last amended on
2022-01-16. Justice Laws Website.
Recovered from https://laws-
lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/index.html
Criminal Code of France. 1994 / last
amended on 2022-06-23. Chapter VI:
Attacks on the personality, Art. 226-2-1.
Recovered from
https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/texte_l
c/LEGITEXT000006070719/2022-06-23/
Criminal Justice and Courts Act UK. 2015.
Section 33. Recovered from
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/
2/contents/enacted
Volume 11 - Issue 55
/ July 2022
17
https:// www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Dunlop, S.M., More, E., & Romer, D. (2011).
Where do youth learn about suicides on the
Internet, and what influence does this have on
suicidal ideation? J Child Psychol Psychiatry,
52(10), 1073-1080. Recovered from
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21658185/
Garkusha, Yu. (2021). How to write about
suicides: a memo for journalists. Institute of
Mass Information. Recovered from
https://imi.org.ua/monitorings/yak-pysaty-
pro-samogubstva-pam-yatka-zhurnalistam-
i37681
Hudimova, A., Popovych, I., Baidyk, V.,
Buriak, O., & Kechyk, O. (2021). The impact
of social media on young web users’
psychological well-being during the
COVID-19 pandemic progression. Amazonia
Investiga, 10(39), 50-61.
https://doi.org/10.34069/AI/2021.39.03.5
ICD-11 for Mortality and Morbidity Statistics
(Version: 02/2022). MB26.A Suicidal
ideation. Recovered from
https://icd.who.int/browse11/l-
m/en/#/http://id.who.int/icd/entity/77873477
1
Kashcheyeva, A. (April 15, 2016). The Werther
effect: how suicide epidemics happen. Bird In
Flight. Recovered from
https://birdinflight.com/ru/mir/effekt-
vertera-kak-voznikayut-epidemii-
samoubijstv.html
Klyuchko, E. (2014). The impact of the Internet
on suicidal behavior among youth. Terra
Humana, 1, 69-72.
Kovalevska, E., & Gribanova, A. (January 14,
2022). "In the death group, I had support."
Why teenagers decide to commit suicide.
BBC News Ukraine. Recovered from
https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/features-
59779596
Kulyk, A., Lubenets, I., Kulakova, N., &
Naumova, I. (2020). Child security on the
internet as a medical law problem. Georgian
Medical News, 6(303), pp. 155-161.
Recovered from https://cdn.website-
editor.net/480918712df344a4a77508d4cd78
15ab/files/uploaded/V303_N6_June_2020.p
df
Kulyk, K. (2016). Preventing the debauching of
minors through the Internet. International
cybersecurity standards and their application
in Ukraine. Kharkiv: Pravo, pp. 72-75.
Lee, S.Y., & Kwon, Y. (2018). Twitter as a place
where people meet to make suicide pacts.
Public Health, V. 159, 21-26. Recovered
from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2018.03.001
Lesko, N. (2017) Legal regulation of the
protection of children from the negative
influence of the Internet. [File PDF]
Recovered from
http://science.lpnu.ua/sites/default/files/journ
al-
paper/2017/aug/5710/vnulpurn201685010.p
df
Lubenets, I., Tolochko, G., & Naumova, І.
(2020). Internet risks and threats to underage
users: the criminological aspect. Science and
Law Enforcement, 2, 182-187. [In Ukranian]
Ministry of Health of Kirov Oblast (2022).
Depression among adolescents (what general
medical practitioners should know about this
disorder). Recovered from
https://www.medkirov.ru/site/LSP1C51EF
Mori, E. (September 10, 2021). September 10 is
World Suicide Prevention Day. Debunking
common myths about suicide. Suspilne.
Novyny. Recovered from
https://suspilne.media/61873-vsesvitnij-den-
zapobiganna-samogubstvam-rozvincuemo-
posireni-mifi-pro-suicid/
Nashynets-Naumova, A. (2017). Information
security: the issue of legal regulation:
monograph. Kyiv: Publishing House
Helvetika, 168 pages. [In Ukranian]
Osipenko, A., & Solovyov, V. (2019). Cyber
threats affecting minors and ways of
combating them through the use of
information technologies. Society and Law, 3
(69), 23-31.
Osvita (2021). Child safety on the Internet:
guidelines for teachers and parents
Recommendations of the Ministry of
Education in connection with the rising
number of cases of dangerous behavior
among children. Recovered from
https://osvita.ua/school/81372/
Parkhomenko, L. (2019). How to keep children
away from death groups on social media?
Vseosvita. Recovered from
https://vseosvita.ua/library/ak-vberegti-ditej-
vid-grup-smerti-v-socmerezah-113028.html
Phillips, J. G., Diesfeld, K. and Mann, L.
(2019). Instances of online suicide, the law
and potential solutions. Psychiatry,
Psychology and Law, 26(3), 423–440.
Recovered from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
MC6762158/
Proulx, M-H. (2021). Internet to the rescue of
suicidal teenagers [Internet à la rescousse des
ados suicidaires]. News [L’actualite].
Recovered from
https://lactualite.com/societe/internet-a-la-
rescousse-des-ados-suicidaires/
Prypkhan, I., & Artemovych, I. (2014). Legal
mechanism for protecting minors from the
negative impact of information on the
18
www.amazoniainvestiga.info ISSN 2322- 6307
Internet. The Scientific Bulletin of the
Uzhhorod National University, series Pravo,
issue 24, vol. 3, pp. 104-108. [In Ukranian]
Rajagopal, S. (2004). Suicide pacts and the
internet. BMJ, 329(7478), 1298–1299.
Recovered from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P
MC534825/
Richardson, H. (2020). Pre-teen girls 'tricked into
sex acts on webcams.' BBC NEWS.
Recovered from
https://www.bbc.com/news/education-
51052076
Rimer, J.R. (2017). Internet sexual offending
from an anthropological perspective:
analysing offender perceptions of online
spaces. Journal of Sexual Aggression,
23(1), 33-45. Recovered from
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.108
0/13552600.2016.1201158?journalCode=tjs
a20
Shchetinina, E. (2018). Social networks of the
Internet: popularization of "death culture"
among adolescents. Electronic scientific
journal Homo Cyberus, 2(5). Recovered
from
http://journal.homocyberus.ru/socialnye_seti
_Interneta_populyarizaciya_kultury_smerti_
v_podrostkovoj_srede
Soldatova, G. (2017). Digital childhood: new
risks and security. Kids Online. Recovered
from https://cutt.ly/OLsD00K
Soldatova, G., Chigarkova, S., Drenyova, A., &
Ilyukhina, S. (2019). We are responsible for
the digital world: preventing destructive
behavior among adolescents and young
adults on the Internet. Teaching aid. Moscow:
Kogito-Centre, 176 pages.
TSN (April 25, 2017) Blue whales: cyber police
uncovers almost 1,000 death groups and
prevents over 10 suicide attempts. Recovered
from https://tsn.ua/ukrayina/sini-kiti-
kiberpoliciya-viyavila-mayzhe-1000-grup-
smerti-ta-poperedila-ponad-10-sprob-
suyicidu-919927.html
Vasylevych, V. (2013). Foreign experience with
criminological policies on protecting the
rights of victims of child pornography
distribution on the Internet. Journal of the
Academy of Advocacy of Ukraine, No. 3.
Recovered from: http://nbuv.gov.ua
Walker, T. (2014). Suicide voyeur: Former nurse
who persuaded online contacts to take their
own lives while he watched via webcam is
freed. Independent. Recovered from
https://cutt.ly/rLsFoCU
WHO. (2021) Adolescent mental health.
Recovered from
https://www.who.int/ru/news-room/fact-
sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health
World Health Organization (2006) Preventing
suicide. A resource for counsellors.
Department of Mental Health and Substance
Abuse. Geneva. 24 pages. Recovered from
https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10
665/43487/9241594314_eng.pdf?sequence=
1
World Health Organization (2017) Preventing
suicide: a resource for media professionals,
2017 update. Recovered from
https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/25881
4
Zolotar, O. (2018) Personal information security:
theory and practice: monograph. Kyiv:
Publishing House ArtEk LLC, 446 pages.