The Role of Social Media in Forming the Stereotype of the Suicide Among the Egyptian Audience A Field Study According to Third Person Effect Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Author

Faculty of Media and Mass Communication - Arab Open University

Abstract

   Due to the exposure of the audience to suicidal content on social media, this research aims at finding the stereotype of the audience towards suicide, the effects that would happen to them, and their perception regarding the effects that might happen to others. 
   Despite the high exposure to this content through social media, this research finds the following: There is no relationship between social media and forming the audience's stereotype towards suicide. Social media affects the audience cognitively only by raising their awareness of the necessity of psychotherapy for reducing the phenomenon of committing suicide. On the contrary, social media does not affect the Egyptians' emotions and behavior such as the suicidal simulation as proven by foreign previous studies.
   Moreover, as per the third-person effect theory, and according to the perception of the audience, social media does not affect others due to the exposure to suicidal content.
   The research shows that Facebook, Youtube and Instagram – respectively – are the most important websites that the audiences care to follow the suicidal content through; to know the problems and motives that would push someone to get rid of their life. As per the results, rape and physical abuse come in the first place, followed by the absence of the family and the conditions of family upbringing since childhood.
   Finally, the audiences rather follow the suicidal content through the users' posts than the news published on the pages of the online newspapers.
 

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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