A teenager can be surrounded by family and friends, appear to be doing well, and still be struggling with thoughts that nobody knows about. Sometimes, those closest to them only discover how much they were suffering after it is too late.
Recent cases involving teenagers and online self-harm content have raised an important question: what happens when someone who is already vulnerable can easily find harmful content online? The answer is not as simple as blaming social media.
Suicide is a complex phenomenon influenced by psychological, social and environmental factors. Social media does not, by itself, explain why someone develops suicidal thoughts. However, digital platforms can change what information is available, how easily it can be found and how often someone is exposed to it.
This distinction matters. Research increasingly suggests that the type of online activity may matter more than simply the amount of time someone spends on a screen. A 2025 study of adolescents found that exposure to self-harm content was associated with self-injury urges and behaviours during the same weeks, whereas overall social media use was not.
Other research points to a similar complexity. A 2026 systematic review found evidence that social media can contribute to the spread of suicidal content, but also that online spaces can have protective effects when they promote help-seeking, recovery and supportive conversations. This means that prevention cannot simply consist of telling young people to “spend less time online”. The content itself matters.
Platforms can play an important role by detecting and limiting harmful material, preventing algorithms from repeatedly recommending increasingly extreme content, responding quickly to reports and making routes to professional support visible. Research involving mental-health professionals has highlighted how easily suicide-related material can spread across platforms and how algorithms and engagement-based systems can amplify exposure.
Families and schools also have a role. Not every young person experiencing suicidal thoughts will show obvious warning signs. Instead of assuming that a child who seems happy is necessarily fine, adults can make conversations about mental health, self-harm and online experiences normal and non-judgemental. Asking what young people encounter online can be as important as asking how much time they spend there.
And when warning signs do appear, early professional support matters.
Prevention also means reducing access to harmful information. The World Health Organization identifies restricting access to means of suicide as one of the key evidence-based population strategies for suicide prevention, alongside early identification and appropriate care.
Ultimately, the lesson is not that social media is inherently dangerous. It is that digital environments can become part of a person’s risk environment when harmful information is readily available and repeatedly encountered.
The goal is not to eliminate young people’s online lives, but to make those environments safer—and to ensure that when someone is struggling, help is easier to find than harm.
References
- Hamilton JL, Untawale S, Dalack MN, et al. (2025). Self-Harm Content on Social Media and Proximal Risk for Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Among Adolescents. JAACAP Open, 3(3), 431–438. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaacop.2024.11.008.
- Bell J, Westoby C. (2025). Public and mental health professionals’ perspectives on social media and suicide exposure. BMC Public Health, 25, 1380. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22587-6.
- Calvo S, Carrasco JP, Conde-Pumpido C, et al. (2026). Does suicide contagion (Werther effect) take place in response to social media? A systematic review. Spanish Journal of Psychiatry and Mental Health, 19(1), 55–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjpmh.2024.05.003.
- World Health Organization. (2023). Preventing suicide: a resource for media professionals.
PhD in Sociology from the University of Barcelona. Early Childhood Education Teacher. Substitute Teacher at the Universitat de València.