Public and mental health professionals’ perspectives on social media and suicide exposure

Abstract Background The rapid evolution of social media in recent years has increased public exposure to suicide. While research has highlighted concerns about the role of social media in facilitating harmful discourse and imitative suicidal behaviour, there is a wide gap in our understanding of the impact of social media exposure in the aftermath of a suicide, and no research to our knowledge from preventive public and mental health perspectives. This qualitative study explored the experiences of public and mental health professionals in relation to social media exposure following a suicide. The study aimed to (1) Better understand social media risks from a public health perspective; (2) Provide insights for public health policy and strategy to enhance suicide prevention efforts and inform guidance for responding. Methods In-depth interviews were conducted with 10 purposively sampled public and mental health professionals based on their roles in crisis response, suicide prevention, and digital monitoring. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, focusing on their experiences of respondi