The number of people who tweet suicidal sentiments may be linked with the number of suicides recorded in some states, a recent study suggests.
The study, which was conducted by Brigham Young University, analyzed keywords on Twitter by state and compared the data to the state’s recorded suicide rate.
It found the two numbers were similar in some cases.
At UF, Mercedes Machado is all too familiar with the pain associated with suicide.
At the age of 17, she lost her close friend to it.
“I experienced and saw the pain,” said Machado, now a 23-year-old UF second-year counselor education graduate student.
Machado works with a UF suicide prevention program directed at students. She said Twitter could be used as a resource to monitor suicidal behavior.
She said it can also be used as a way to respond to suicidal tweets with helpful resources.
Machado said even Tweets considered “emotional” can be a cry for help from a person looking for someone to reach out to them.
Donovan Triplett, a 21-year-old UF advertising senior, said he uses Twitter to promote his organizations, connect with friends and express himself.
He said drawing data from the tweets could be tricky.
“The words and phrases used to identify suicidal tweets and discussions would need to be very clear,” Triplett said. “Or else certain tweets could be taken out of context.”
Meggen Sixbey, associate director of emergency and crisis response services at UF’s Counseling & Wellness Center, expressed concern about the reaction to online activity monitoring.
“It’s a slippery slope because it’s a public forum,” said Sixbey, who also coordinates UF’s crisis response and suicide prevention program. “This can cause a knee-jerk reaction that won’t always lead to the appropriate resources being used.”
UF social media specialist Bruce Floyd said people use social media platforms to share both the positive and negative events that happen throughout their day.
“I’m not surprised those conversations happen on Twitter,” Floyd said. “It’s a communication platform for real people who feel real emotions.”
A version of this story ran on page 9 on 10/15/2013 under the headline "Study finds certain tweets could mirror suicide rates in some states"
