Suchergebnisse

Sebastian Scherr führt vor dem Hintergrund der zahlreichen Studien zum Werther-Effekt die theoretischen Überschneidungen der Modellvorstellung von Depression und Suizidalität in ein integratives handlungstheoretisches Modell im Medienkontext zusammen. Er überprüft dieses mithilfe empirischer Untersuchungen. Dabei spielen Depressionen, die individuelle Suizidalität sowie die Mediennutzung, Medienrezeption und Medienwahrnehmung eine zentrale Rolle. Die Studie zeigt: Suiziddarstellungen in den Medien haben nicht auf alle Rezipienten eine gleichförmige, schädliche Wirkung. Vielmehr ist ein komplexes Zusammenspiel aus spezifischer Medienzuwendung und individuellen Personenmerkmalen dafür verantwortlich, welchen Einfluss Medien auf die individuelle Suizidalität entfalten. Sebastian Scherr ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München.

Sebastian Scherr führt vor dem Hintergrund der zahlreichen Studien zum Werther-Effekt die theoretischen Überschneidungen der Modellvorstellung von Depression und Suizidalität in ein integratives handlungstheoretisches Modell im Medienkontext zusammen. Er überprüft dieses mithilfe empirischer Untersuchungen. Dabei spielen Depressionen, die individuelle Suizidalität sowie die Mediennutzung, Medienrezeption und Medienwahrnehmung eine zentrale Rolle. Die Studie zeigt: Suiziddarstellungen in den Medien haben nicht auf alle Rezipienten eine gleichförmige, schädliche Wirkung. Vielmehr ist ein komplexes Zusammenspiel aus spezifischer Medienzuwendung und individuellen Personenmerkmalen dafür verantwortlich, welchen Einfluss Medien auf die individuelle Suizidalität entfalten. Der Inhalt Zum Forschungsfeld "Medien und Suizide" Begriffsdefinitionen und Modellvorstellungen von Suizidalität und Depression Einflussgrößen und Erklärungsansätze in der bisherigen Forschung zu Medien und Suizidalität Modellbildung: Depression, Medien und Suizidalität Die Zielgruppen Dozierende und Studierende aus den Bereichen Kommunikationswissenschaft, klinische Psychologie, Suizidologie Klinische Psychologen, Psychotherapeuten, Psychiater Der Autor Sebastian Scherr ist wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter am Institut für Kommunikationswissenschaft und Medienforschung an der Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

TikTok is one of the most popular apps. TikTok's endless stream of content, the lack time stamps or notifications of ever being "all caught up," and concealing the phone's clock make it easy to lose track of time on TikTok. However, there is a lack of knowledge about how TikTok use may therefore interfere with our circadian rhythms, particularly our sleep hygiene. By focusing on pre-sleep cognitive arousal, this study aimed to close this knowledge gap by investigating the association between automatic TikTok use and daytime fatigue. We also investigated how individual preferences for sensation seeking and delayed gratification moderated this relationship. Within a sample of 1,050 TikTok/Douyin users in China, automatic TikTok use was associated with increased daytime fatigue that was mediated by higher levels of cognitive arousal before sleep. This relationship was aggravated by a preference for sensation seeking, and attenuated by a preference for delayed gratification. Above and beyond these early empirical insights, we also provide an early explanatory framework that is meant to systematize both existing and future knowledge about the use of TikTok.

Abstract. Background: Research has already acknowledged the importance of the Internet in suicide prevention as search engines such as Google are increasingly used in seeking both helpful and harmful suicide-related information. Aims: We aimed to assess the impact of a highly publicized suicide by a Hollywood actor on suicide-related online information seeking. Method: We tested the impact of the highly publicized suicide of Robin Williams on volumes of suicide-related search queries. Results: Both harmful and helpful search terms increased immediately after the actor's suicide, with a substantial jump of harmful queries. Limitations: The study has limitations (e.g., possible validity threats of the query share measure, use of ambiguous search terms). Conclusion: Online suicide prevention efforts should try to increase online users' awareness of and motivation to seek help, for which Google's own helpline box could play an even more crucial role in the future.

Based on a secondary analysis of representative survey data of journalists in Germany (n= 1536), this paper draws attention to two variables that are important when it comes to explain whether journalists accept questionable reporting practices, such as paying people to obtain information or using confidential government documents without permission. First, perceived role achievement is important, as journalists who do not feel able to achieve an active role tend to accept questionable reporting practices more often. Second, however, this relationship is only true for journalists having a moderate tendency to the political left. Findings are explained by means of the theory of cognitive dissonance

Based on the subset of a representative survey of journalists with an active role perception in Germany, this article shows that more liberal journalists within the subset have (a) a more active role conception than more conservative journalists, (b) they perceive stronger discrepancies between their active role and its fulfillment, and (c) they are, thus, less satisfied with audiences and editorial policy. The indirect effect of the political leaning of this subset of journalists on their satisfaction with audiences and editorial policy underlines the significance of intrinsic factors for subdimensions of job satisfaction in journalism.

In 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist who wrote for the Washington Post, was last seen alive entering the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul. Confirmed news of his murder ignited a heated and polarized public debate on Twitter. We use agenda melding as a theoretical lemma and argue that Twitter sentiment flourishes within multilingual, ad hoc public spheres contributing to an emotional agenda. We examined the Twitter sentiment from 2018 to 2021 by looking at the most popular hashtags used in both the Arabic-and-English language spheres. The daily sentiment analysis of 3,278,464 tweets revealed that both languages had a predominantly negative sentiment; however, the English sphere was more extreme in their emotional expression. An additional analysis of external media URLs found in a subsample of tweets highlighted distinct references to media discourse, emphasizing an East–West divide. Implications for global communication are discussed.

Abstract. Background: Suicide is the second-leading cause of death among 15–29-year-olds and Instagram is one of the most popular and fastest-growing social media platforms among this age group. A previous study presented preliminary evidence for suicide-related "subliminal messages" on Instagram, defined as very brief presentations of suicide-related content in video posts that users have no conscious awareness of. Aim: A systematic quantitative study was pending. Method: We conducted a quantitative content analysis of 100 Instagram video posts. A frame-by-frame coding procedure allowed for an assessment of whether suicide-related content was depicted in very brief segments, even when this content could not be consciously recognized when watched at regular speed. Results: Analysis indicates that a substantial amount of suicide-related content is presented in very brief shots. We identified 67 very brief shots that appeared in 21 video posts. Of interest, 13 of these video posts presented more than one very brief suicide-related shot. Limitation: The subjective threshold of conscious awareness differs inter-individually. This complicates the operationalization of subliminal messages. Conclusion: Subliminal messages are ethically highly problematic. There is a need for a greater awareness of possible suicide-related subliminal messages on Instagram.

Abstract. Objective: There is limited knowledge about the effects of a workshop intervention on responsible reporting on suicide (RRS) by media professionals. The study aimed to test how a workshop can shape reporting-relevant attitudes and beliefs among media professionals. Method: A pre–postintervention survey of Swiss media professionals ( N = 26, 55.7% male, Mage = 38.1, SDage = 12.8, all Swiss nationals) was conducted. All participants received the same intervention and survey questions. The analytical focus was on within-person changes caused by the workshop intervention. Results: Among media professionals, the workshop intervention increased perceived knowledge sufficiency about RRS, raised awareness that RRS can save lives, decreased insecurities related to RRS, and reduced the misperception that there are no clear recommendations about RRS. Limitations: Despite the missing randomization of workshop participants, the repeated measures design allows to speak to the short-term changes in RRS. Conclusion: An RRS workshop intervention has multifaceted positive effects on media professionals. The study found no evidence for unintended effects of the intervention.

Suicide is a leading cause of death among youth, and media depictions of suicidal behavior can be a contributing risk factor. Of interest, Instagram recently received more scholarly attention due to its large number of publicly available, explicit, and graphic depictions of self-harm. Importantly, researchers have hypothesized that exposure to this content could be a risk for self-harm and suicide in vulnerable audiences. We tested this hypothesis using a two-wave US panel survey among young adults ( N = 729). Analyses indicated that exposure to self-harm on Instagram was associated with suicidal ideation, self-harm, and emotional disturbance even controlling for exposure to other sources with similar content. As hypothesized, exposure to self-harm on Instagram at the first wave prospectively predicted self-harm and suicidality-related outcomes at the second wave 1 month later. These findings provide evidence that such exposure can lead to contagion in vulnerable users. Implications are discussed.

Worldwide, people profit from equally accessible online health information via search engines. Therefore, equal access to health information is a global imperative. We studied one specific scenario, in which Google functions as a gatekeeper when people seek suicide-related information using both helpful and harmful suicide-related search terms. To help prevent suicides, Google implemented a "suicide-prevention result" (SPR) at the very top of such search results. While this effort deserves credit, the present investigation compiled evidence that the SPR is not equally displayed to all users. Using a virtual agent-based testing methodology, a set of 3 studies in 11 countries found that the presentation of the SPR varies depending on where people search for suicide-related information. Language is a key factor explaining these differences. Google's algorithms thereby contribute to a global digital divide in online health-information access with possibly lethal consequences. Higher and globally balanced display frequencies are desirable.