Media Construction of Suicide: A Critical Review of the Suicide Media Contagion Hypothesis

Abstract

Historically, suicide narratives in cyberspace have been studied under the Suicide Media Contagion hypothesis. This hypothesis states that exposure to suicide stories in mass media are a risk factor in the production of suicide. In this essay, I make a critical reflection on this hypothesis from Social Psychology, constructivism and Physiological Psychology. Then, I propose a new way of understanding suicide media narratives from the conceptual framework of Social Construcctionism and virtual communities.

Keywords

• suicidio
• Contagio Mediático del Suicidio
• Psicología Social
• constructivismo
• Psicología Fisiológica