LETTER | Recently, Malaysian netizens frequently share news and photos of people who committed suicide in new media. Within a short period, the suicides have gone viral and have become a hot topic of discussion. But people don’t know that this small gesture of sharing suicide news will lead to very harmful consequences for society.

“Werther Effect” is a social and psychological phenomenon where the sharing of suicide news will lead to an increase in suicide incidents. The Werther Effect is a phenomenon of mimicking suicide, which means the suicidal behaviour can be mimicked and contagious to a certain extent.

For example, when a sensational suicide incident is reported in a community, the rate of suicide will rise sharply in the area covered by the report. People who are facing distress will may be inspired by the idea of suicide after seeing the news, and in turn, will imitate the behaviour of suicide.

Social psychological research also shows that within two months of each sensational suicide news report, the average number of suicides was 58 cases higher than usual. So in a sense, every report of a suicide incident killed 58 people who could have continued to live on. This phenomenon of suicide-induced suicide mainly occurs in areas where suicide incidents are widely publicised. Moreover, the more widespread this kind of propaganda is, the more people will commit suicide after exposure to the news.

In other words, when someone shares the news of suicide with their friends, they are suggesting the idea of suicide to their friends. And for the friends who receive the news, it will also certainly bring a negative psychological impact.

Based on my many years of observation of the Werther Effect in Malaysia. In the past 15 years, the phenomenon of suicide-induced suicide has indeed occurred in Malaysian society. In my opinion, it will continue to occur in the present and in the future. The effect will surely be more significant when everyone is currently in a challenging period.

I humbly urge everyone to stop reposting news of suicide.

Advisory

If you are feeling depressed or suicidal, or know someone who is, please call the following hotlines:

Agape Counselling Centre Malaysia

Hotline: 03-77855955 or 7781 0800

The Befrienders

Hotline: 03-79568144 or 03-79568145

Life Line Association Malaysia

Hotline: 03-42657995

DR WONG KOK FYE is a member of the American Psychological Association.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.