<h2 class="sub-title">Smartphones have exposed the teeming masses of India’s youth (15-29 years), comprising 27.2% of its 1.4 billion population, to the uncertainties of social media with no guard rails</h2>
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<p>The most populous country in the world also has the largest number of mobile internet connections – over 1 billion. This is not just in urban India, which has a tele-density of 128%. Rural India has caught up with the internet, with a tele-density of 58% as of February 2024, according to the country’s Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI). </p>
<p>Smartphones have, in turn, exposed the teeming masses of India’s youth (15-29 years), comprising 27.2% of its 1.4 billion population, to the uncertainties of social media with no guard rails. </p>
<p>Young girls, in particular, are falling prey to the psychological impact of excessive social media usage. What begins as a pastime and a means to connect with friends, increasingly turns into addiction, followed by depression and in many cases, suicidal thoughts and behaviour. </p>
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<h4 class="sub_head">How does social media drive a person to such extremes? </h4>
<p>Experts postulate that excessive use of social media reduces interpersonal interactions leading to an increasing sense of isolation. Added to this is the continual pressure to appear ‘happy’ or ‘beautiful’ and the need for validation from peers in the form of ‘likes’, ‘follows’ and positive comments. </p>
<p>Negative feedback from peers increases the disconnect from society. In interpersonal interactions, we continually interpret body language, tone of voice and context, along with verbal cues. The lack of ‘cues’ in online interactions could easily be misconstrued as negative. </p>
<p>The anonymity accorded by social media platforms means that criticism is uninhibited and often cruel. Cyberbullying is frequently seen among adolescents. Friends and strangers can gang up to target, abuse or victimise an individual. This increases the sense of isolation for the victim, pushing him/her into depression and suicide. </p>
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<p>In most cases, victims of cyber aggression do not report their distress to their parents or to responsible adults. A 2008 study in the United States shows that 90% of such victims hid these instances from their parents. Parents are usually behind the curve when it comes to understanding the world of social media and are unaware of the distress their child could be in. The situation in Indian families is similar. </p>
<p>In many instances, the fear of ‘shameful’ photos or videos being posted online for the world to see, has had a detrimental impact on a vulnerable person’s mental health. The ability [of others] to ‘unfollow’, ‘unfriend’ or ‘block’ users could further the feeling of alienation. This potent mix brings about feelings of shame, guilt, loneliness, hopelessness and a perception of being a ‘burden’ on others. This is the point where suicidal thoughts begin in young minds. </p>
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<div class="picture zoom-img "><img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///ywAAAAAAQABAAACAUwAOw==" fifu-lazy="1" fifu-data-sizes="auto" fifu-data-srcset="https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=75&resize=75&ssl=1 75w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=100&resize=100&ssl=1 100w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=150&resize=150&ssl=1 150w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=240&resize=240&ssl=1 240w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=320&resize=320&ssl=1 320w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=500&resize=500&ssl=1 500w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=640&resize=640&ssl=1 640w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=800&resize=800&ssl=1 800w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=1024&resize=1024&ssl=1 1024w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=1280&resize=1280&ssl=1 1280w, https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1&w=1600&resize=1600&ssl=1 1600w" fifu-data-src="https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1" data-original="https://i3.wp.com/th-i.thgim.com/public/incoming/5jwpd/article69288650.ece/alternates/FREE_1200/IMG_PO30_Whatsapp_notif_2_1_RUAERUH2.jpg?ssl=1" alt="The anonymity accorded by social media platforms means that criticism is uninhibited and often cruel. Photograph used for representational purposes only " title="The anonymity accorded by social media platforms means that criticism is uninhibited and often cruel. Photograph used for representational purposes only " class=" lazy" width="100%" height="100%"></div>
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<p> The anonymity accorded by social media platforms means that criticism is uninhibited and often cruel. Photograph used for representational purposes only<br />
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 Getty Images
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<h4 class="sub_head">Vulnerable young Indians </h4>
<p>Data from the National Crime Records Bureau shows that 1.71 lakh people died by suicide in 2022. The suicide rate is the highest the country has ever seen — 12.4 per 100,000 people. </p>
<p>The most vulnerable age group was 18-29 years, accounting for 34.6% of suicides. </p>
<p>With the explosion of social media usage, suicidal behaviour among adolescents and young adults is quickly becoming a large problem. In the U.S., it has been found that 95% of teens between the ages of 13 and 17 have used a social media platform. Over one-third said they use social media “almost constantly.” </p>
<p>In April 2024, a video of an eight-month-old infant in Chennai, lying fallen on a tin roof of a multi-storied apartment complex went viral. The Indian and international media picked it up and the child’s mother was subjected to a barrage of angry and abusive remarks on social media. </p>
<p>The child survived but the mother did not – she died by suicide barely a month later at her parents’ home in Coimbatore. News reports quoted the police as saying that she had been depressed at the abuse directed towards her, blaming her for being a careless mother. </p>
<p>This tragedy highlights the breathtaking reach of social media and the explosion of negativity it can create. </p>
<p>Social media has grown beyond anyone’s wildest imagination. Research shows that around 4.9 billion people used social media globally in 2023. This is projected to increase to 5.85 billion users in 2027. Each person uses six to seven platforms on an average. </p>
<p>In India, the most active users of social media are over the age 18 — there are 398 million people in this bracket, who make up 40.2% of the country’s population. A total of 31.8% of India’s population actively uses Facebook and 67.5% of all internet users in India have used at least one social media platform. </p>
<p>Research also shows that the global average for time spent by a user on social media is 145 minutes a day. </p>
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<h4 class="sub_head">Impact of social media on young minds </h4>
<p>There is limited research on the impact of social media on the vulnerable adolescent age group and its correlation with suicide or suicidal behaviour in India. Many studies however, have been conducted in the U.S., U.K., South Korea and in China. They hold up a mirror to the impact of social media on the minds of vulnerable adolescents and young adults. </p>
<p>A 2024 study by South Korean researchers found that among adolescent girls aged 13 to 18 years, engaging on social media platforms like Twitter or Instagram had a profoundly negative impact. They found that participants who were already suffering from suicidal thoughts and behaviours tended to spend excessive time on social media without a specific purpose, which could “cause psychological or social difficulties”. These participants also struggled with interpersonal interaction and felt a “great sense of emotional distance” from others. Participants were also found to be at risk, due to negative comments, cyber-bullying and online victimisation. South Korea has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. </p>
<p>In the U.S., researchers have sounded the alarm over social media posing a risk to young adults. A 2021 study details how social media addiction is similar to substance addiction – it warns that compulsive social media usage could reinforce ‘short-term benefits’ (e.g., avoidance of painful emotions) but take a psychological toll in the long term.” Social media addiction too, like alcohol or drug addiction, follows the same six-fold pattern — salience, mood modification, tolerance, withdrawal, conflict, and relapse. </p>
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<h4 class="sub_head">Gender differences</h4>
<p>There is also a gender difference in the way social media impacts adolescence and young adults. A 2019 study by the American Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that social media use is “more strongly associated with depression in girls compared with boys, and cyberbullying is more closely associated with emotional problems in girls compared with boys.” Other studies show a similar trend – depressed girls tend to get more negative responses from their peers on social media compared to depressed boys. These trends show why young girls are more vulnerable to suicidal thoughts and behaviour. </p>
<p>In Japan, suicide pacts increased, as adolescents with depressive symptoms found similar people through social media. The first case of a suicide pact (where two or more people agree to end their lives together) was in 2000. Due to social media, such cyber-suicide pacts became common. A total of 208 people died in Japan in 2008 as they attempted suicide by inhaling toxic hydrogen sulphide gas. The origin of this idea was from message boards of various social media platforms. In South Korea, cyber-suicide pacts could be as high as one third of all suicides. </p>
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									Meta to hide posts about suicide, eating disorders from teens&#8217; Instagram and Facebook feeds</div>
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<h4 class="sub_head">Using social media to prevent suicides </h4>
<p>Not everything about social media, however, is problematic. Platforms have become sensitive to the need to flag suicidal thoughts and behaviour. </p>
<p>In India, Facebook’s parent company Meta worked with the Uttar Pradesh police from January 1, 2023 to June 15, 2024 to flag user accounts exhibiting suicidal behaviour. The result – 457 lives saved from 740 alerts provided by Meta. </p>
<p>The Indian government pre-emptively banned the TikTok app in June 2020. In 2022, the country rolled out its National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. However, much more needs to be done to counter the effects of social media and the role it plays in suicidal thoughts and behaviour. </p>
<p>Scandinavian countries have taken proactive steps to address this issue. Norway, for instance, has decided to ban<sup></sup>social media for those under 15 years of age. Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said – “These are big tech giants pitted against the brains of small children.” </p>
<p>The Swedish Public Health Agency has completely banned screen time for infants under the age of two years. For children between the ages of 2 and 5, one hour a day of screen time is allowed, while for those between the ages of 6 and 12, only two hours is allowed. For teenagers, screen time is restricted to three hours a day. The government is also mulling a new law that would remove access to mobile phones for school students up to the ninth standard. </p>
<p>Social media platforms have responded in some measure by putting age restrictions in place for users and by deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools to flag suicidal posts by users. Social media users too, are more aware now and many react quickly to alert relevant authorities when they find a person exhibiting suicidal behaviour. </p>
<p>Studies find that even strangers have flagged such accounts by ‘reposting’ and ‘tagging’ relevant handles so that they may receive support. </p>
<p>Social media is also an excellent way to reach a population that is reluctant to seek help through traditional routes. The anonymity of social media provides a safe space for those with suicidal ideas to air their thoughts, anxieties and emotions. </p>
<p>There are numerous sites and apps that provide mental health and crisis intervention support online. However, the variability of these services and their effectiveness needs to be assessed and monitored. The challenge is to channel those who need professional mental health support to the needed service. </p>
<h4 class="sub_head">What parents must know</h4>
<p>There are some recommendations by experts that could help parents. </p>
<p>Monitor your children’s devices and learn how to block problematic content from your child’s social media. 	 </p>
<p>Look for signs of problematic social media use in your child — inability to perform routine tasks, withdrawn behaviour, falling academic scores, unwillingness to engage in social activities, lack of physical exercise and aggressive behaviour when internet/social media is denied. 	 </p>
<p>Teach your child how to manage their emotions and to be aware of the negative effects of social media. 	 </p>
<p>Provide a stable and 	supportive home for your child. Build a strong and non-judgemental relationship and engage in healthy communication. 	 </p>
<p>Lead by example – minimise your own screen time and encourage conversations and family activities. 	 </p>
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									Study finds suicidal ideation and attempts high among college students</div>
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<h4 class="sub_head">Guidelines for adolescents </h4>
<p>Spend time with real friends rather than those online, and engage in outdoor group 	activities. </p>
<p>Have a regular schedule in terms of eating and sleeping. Minimise screen time especially before going to bed. Avoid looking at your phone first thing in the morning. </p>
<p>Engage in physical activity every day. 	 </p>
<p>Seek help from a trusted adult if you are feeling lonely or are bullied on social 	media. </p>
<p><i>(Dr. Lakshmi Vijayakumar is a Chennai-based psychiatrist and founder, SNEHA suicide prevention centre)</i> </p>
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Social media and suicides: an inflection point
