Supporting Yellow Ribbon Suicide Prevention, DUP Photos, Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
This research utilized qualitative and quantitative content analysis to answer the question “What is the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the discussion of suicide in The Mighty blog posts?” I set out to identify how a global event that disrupted “normal” life impacted the way people discuss suicidality. I found that the impact of COVID-19 varied more on a personal level. About half of people found that COVID-19 was isolating and worsened symptoms while the other half felt the COVID-19 fostered time for recovery and helped others build a sense of community.
I had hoped to apply Durkheim’s Theory of Suicide to the COVID-19 pandemic, as it was a time of dramatic social change, however, my results do not display an increase in vulnerability to suicide (Brantez and Houle 2023; Wray et al. 2011). One study that I discussed in my literature review found that there was an increase in mention of plans for suicide in help seekers who live alone as well as male help seekers (Salmi et al. 2022). However, I did not notice an increase in discussion of plans for suicide. Another example of research shows that online forums provide insight into the discussion of suicide (Wiggins et al. 2016). Utilizing The Mighty was useful in giving me insight into personal and individual examples of the discussion of suicide.
One limitation of my research is its lack of generalizability. I only utilized one specific blogging platform to conduct my research. People may have had discussions of suicidality on a variety of other platforms during the periods I researched. I also only know the experiences of people who submitted their stories to The Mighty. Many people may have had experiences with suicidality and not shared them publicly.
Scotland’s suicide prevention plan, Scottish Government, Flickr, CC BY-NC 2.0
Specifically on The Mighty, it is difficult to identify a shift in feelings of isolation, loneliness, and stigma with the occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It appears that before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic The Mighty bloggers felt stigmatization from society and refrained from using stigmatized words in their blog posts. The usage of the word “isolation” peaked in 2018-2019 and the word “lonely” peaked in 2022-2023. Ultimately, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted people’s discussion of suicide as it became a factor in their lives, but it did not seem to have a significant impact on the blogger’s feelings of isolation, pain, hope, and stigmatization.
For future research on this topic, I would love to include a larger sample size across a wider range of platforms. Additionally, I think it would be fascinating to be able to conduct interviews about people’s experiences with suicidality before, during, and after COVID-19.