Ha Jeongmin, Yang Hee-Seung
School of Economics, Yonsei University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2021 Apr 28;16(4):e0249896. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249896. eCollection 2021.
Since 2003 Korea has experienced the highest suicide rate among OECD countries. One of the societal risk factors that triggers suicide is the contagious nature of suicide. This paper empirically examines the effect of celebrity suicide reports on subsequent copycat suicides, using daily suicide data and information of highly publicized suicide stories in Korea from 2005 to 2018. The findings from the Poisson regression model suggest that the number of public suicides soars after media reports on celebrity suicides. On average, the number of suicides in the population increased by 16.4% within just one day after the reports. Further analysis reveals that female and younger subgroups are more likely to be affected by celebrity suicides. Moreover, the public reacts more strongly to suicide incidents of celebrities of the same gender and even imitates the methods of suicide used by celebrities. This paper highlights the significance of careful and responsible media coverage of suicide stories to prevent copycat suicide. For policymakers, it is crucial to implement regulations not only for traditional media but also for new media where younger people can freely access unfiltered information.
自2003年以来，韩国一直是经合组织国家中自杀率最高的国家之一。引发自杀的社会风险因素之一是自杀的传染性。本文利用2005年至2018年韩国的每日自杀数据和广为人知的自杀事件信息，实证研究了名人自杀报道对随后模仿自杀的影响。泊松回归模型的结果表明，媒体报道名人自杀后，公众自杀的数量急剧上升。平均而言，报道后的一天内，自杀人数就增加了16.4%。进一步分析表明，女性和年轻亚群体更容易受到名人自杀的影响。此外，公众对同性名人的自杀事件反应更强烈，甚至会模仿名人使用的自杀方式。本文强调了媒体谨慎、负责地报道自杀事件以防止模仿自杀的重要性。对于政策制定者来说，不仅要对传统媒体实施监管，还要对年轻人可以自由获取未经筛选信息的新媒体实施监管，这一点至关重要。
