{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,11]],"date-time":"2026-11-11T16:30:15Z","timestamp":1794414615006,"version":"4.9.1"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"JMIR Publications Inc.","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["J Med Internet Res"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"background\">\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Engagement with suicide-related content online is often assumed to be harmful, yet many individuals with lived experience describe such content as supportive or even life-preserving. Despite policy and clinical concerns, little is known about how people intentionally or unintentionally encounter this content, how they interpret it, and how these experiences shape perceived harm or benefit.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"objective\">\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study aims to explore how intent and context influence the ways in which individuals with lived experience of suicidality encounter, interpret, and respond to suicide-related online content, and to identify factors associated with perceived harm and benefit.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"methods\">\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>An exploratory cross-sectional survey was conducted with a convenience sample of 713 UK-based participants aged 16 to 60 years and older, 95.9% (n=684) of whom reported having lived experience of suicidality. Quantitative data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics, including chi-square tests, to examine associations between engagement patterns, intent, and suicidality. Free-text responses were coded using content analysis to identify categories relating to motivations for engagement, emotional responses, and perceived impact.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"results\">\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Participants reported a broad range of experiences. While 30.0% (214\/713) described suicide-related content as contributing to suicidal thoughts or attempts, others reported relief, validation, or reduced feelings of isolation, with 21.0% (150\/713) attributing content to preventing an attempt. Clear differences emerged between participants who actively sought out content (\u201cseekers\u201d) and those who encountered it unintentionally (\u201cstumblers\u201d). Seekers more frequently reported positive or understanding responses, often in the context of unmet offline support needs, whereas stumblers were more likely to report shock or distress. Approximately 39.9% (151\/378) of participants described their engagement as neither intentional nor accidental, potentially reflecting a blurred boundary between passive exposure and active seeking, as well as the difficulty individuals face in accurately identifying and articulating their own motivations in relation to suicidality.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec sec-type=\"conclusions\">\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Engagement with suicide-related online content cannot be characterized as uniformly harmful. Outcomes depend on user intent, emotional state, and the context of engagement, and they may change over time. Clinical, regulatory, and policy approaches should move beyond risk-only frameworks to account for the nuanced and sometimes supportive roles such content plays in how individuals make sense of suicidal thoughts, while still protecting those at risk.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.2196\/92693","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,21]],"date-time":"2026-10-21T13:28:20Z","timestamp":1792589300000},"page":"e92693-e92693","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Navigating Suicide-Related Online Content in Individuals With Lived Experience of Suicidality: Cross-Sectional Survey"],"prefix":"10.2196","volume":"28","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-7534-1516","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jacob","family":"Greaves","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7254-1653","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Dafni","family":"Katsampa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2898-4120","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lydia","family":"Grace","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-8985-1359","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ciara","family":"Harris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1080-2512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Lavis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3576-4724","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ian","family":"Marsh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9735-3512","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lisa","family":"Marzano","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1010","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"R1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.eclinm.2024.102506","article-title":"Global trends in youth suicide from 1990 to 2020: an analysis of data from the WHO mortality database","volume":"70","author":"Bertuccio","journal-title":"EClinicalMedicine"},{"key":"R2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.puhe.2024.11.018","article-title":"Changing suicide trends: a shift in regional disparities across the UK","volume":"238","author":"Hiam","journal-title":"Public Health"},{"key":"R3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.childyouth.2020.105054","article-title":"Social media use and deliberate self-harm among youth: a systematized narrative review","volume":"116","author":"Biernesser","journal-title":"Child Youth Serv Rev"},{"issue":"10","key":"R4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e807","DOI":"10.1016\/S2468-2667(24)00153-1","article-title":"Public health measures related to the transmissibility of suicide","volume":"9","author":"Pirkis","journal-title":"Lancet Public Health"},{"key":"R5","unstructured":"Online Safety Act: explainer. GOV.UK. 2025. URL: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/online-safety-act-explainer\/online-safety-act-explainer [Accessed 21-06-2025]"},{"issue":"8","key":"R6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0181722","article-title":"A systematic review of the relationship between internet use, self-harm and suicidal behaviour in young people: the good, the bad and the unknown","volume":"12","author":"Marchant","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"key":"R7","unstructured":"Online lives, offline consequences. World Health Organisation. May 23, 2025. URL: https:\/\/www.who.int\/europe\/news\/item\/23-05-2025-online-lives--offline-consequences [Accessed 05-06-2025]"},{"issue":"5","key":"R8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0197712","article-title":"Using the internet for suicide-related purposes: contrasting findings from young people in the community and self-harm patients admitted to hospital","volume":"13","author":"Biddle","journal-title":"PLoS One"},{"issue":"8","key":"R9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"842","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpp.13245","article-title":"#Online harms or benefits? An ethnographic analysis of the positives and negatives of peer-support around self-harm on social media","volume":"61","author":"Lavis","journal-title":"J Child Psychol Psychiatry"},{"key":"R10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2021.691438","article-title":"Relationship of social and behavioral characteristics to suicidality in community adolescents with self-harm: considering contagion and connection on social media","volume":"12","author":"Seong","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"issue":"3","key":"R11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"365","DOI":"10.1037\/amp0000477","article-title":"Assortativity of suicide-related posting on social media","volume":"75","author":"Cero","journal-title":"Am Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"R12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"107","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1365-2648.2007.04569.x","article-title":"The qualitative content analysis process","volume":"62","author":"Elo","journal-title":"J Adv Nurs"},{"issue":"1754","key":"R13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2017.0268","article-title":"The integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behaviour","volume":"373","author":"O\u2019Connor","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci"},{"key":"R14","unstructured":"UK Government. Online safety act 2023. legislation.gov.uk. 2023. URL: https:\/\/www.legislation.gov.uk\/ukpga\/2023\/50\/introduction [Accessed 29-07-2025]"},{"issue":"6","key":"R15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"635","DOI":"10.1111\/jcpp.12197","article-title":"Annual research review: harms experienced by child users of online and mobile technologies: the nature, prevalence and management of sexual and aggressive risks in the digital age","volume":"55","author":"Livingstone","journal-title":"J Child Psychol Psychiatry"},{"issue":"CSCW2","key":"R16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1145\/3476046","article-title":"Algorithmic folk theories and identity: how TikTok users co-produce knowledge of identity and engage in algorithmic resistance","volume":"5","author":"Karizat","journal-title":"Proc ACM Hum-Comput Interact"},{"issue":"2","key":"R17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"20563051211008828","DOI":"10.1177\/20563051211008828","article-title":"Experiencing algorithms: how young people understand, feel about, and engage with algorithmic news selection on social media","volume":"7","author":"Swart","journal-title":"Soc Media Soc"},{"issue":"1","key":"R18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"67","DOI":"10.1111\/sltb.12265","article-title":"Moving beyond self-report: implicit associations about death\/life prospectively predict suicidal behavior among veterans","volume":"47","author":"Barnes","journal-title":"Suicide Life Threat Behav"},{"issue":"10","key":"R19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2604","DOI":"10.1037\/xge0001211","article-title":"The effects of repetition on belief in naturalistic settings","volume":"151","author":"Fazio","journal-title":"J Exp Psychol Gen"},{"key":"R20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.56.091103.070320","article-title":"The psychology and neurobiology of suicidal behavior","volume":"56","author":"Joiner","journal-title":"Annu Rev Psychol"},{"issue":"1","key":"R21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s13034-023-00597-9","article-title":"Social media use of adolescents who died by suicide: lessons from a psychological autopsy study","volume":"17","author":"Balt","journal-title":"Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health"},{"key":"R22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2021.641673","article-title":"On the psychology of TikTok use: a first glimpse from empirical findings","volume":"9","author":"Montag","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"R23","unstructured":"Mental health and wellbeing plan: discussion paper. GOV.UK. 2025. URL: https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/calls-for-evidence\/mental-health-and-wellbeing-plan-discussion-paper-and-call-for-evidence\/mental-health-and-wellbeing-plan-discussion-paper [Accessed 22-10-2025]"},{"issue":"1","key":"R24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2196\/59829","article-title":"Formative evaluation of suicide prevention websites for men: qualitative study with men at risk of suicide and with potential gatekeepers","volume":"9","author":"Reifegerste","journal-title":"JMIR Form Res"}],"container-title":["Journal of Medical Internet Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e92693","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,11,11]],"date-time":"2026-11-11T16:18:45Z","timestamp":1794413925000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.jmir.org\/2026\/1\/e92693"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"references-count":24,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.2196\/92693","relation":{},"ISSN":["1438-8871"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1438-8871","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,20]]},"article-number":"v28i10e92693"}}