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On Monday night, as fans around the world began to grieve
Robin Williamss death, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences best known, in many circles, as the people
behind the Oscars sent out what may be the iconic social
media image of Williamss death.
Follow Follow @caitlindewey @caitlindewey
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Genie, you're free.
7:56 PM - 11 Aug 2014
The Academy
@TheAcademy
Follow Follow
320,815 RETWEETS 223,621 FAVORITES
More than 270,000 people have shared the tweet, which
means that, per the analytics site Topsy, as many as 69
million people have seen it.
The problem? It violates well-established public health
standards for how we talk about suicide.
If it doesnt cross the line, it comes very, very close to it,
said Christine Moutier, chief medical officer at the American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Suicide should never be
presented as an option. Thats a formula for potential
contagion.
Moutier is referring to a well-documented phenomenon,
better-known as copycat suicide, in which media coverage
or publicity around one death encourages other vulnerable
people to commit suicide in the same way. Adolescents are
most at risk of suicide contagion; in recent years, groups like
AFSP have also become particularly attentive to the role the
Internet plays in romanticizing notorious or high-profile
deaths, something it has long asked both the news and
entertainment industries to avoid.
The potential for online reports, photos/videos and stories
to go viral makes it vital that online coverage of suicide
follow site or industry safety recommendations, one media
guide reads.
But in the hours since @TheAcademys tweet went viral,
professionals like Moutier have become concerned that it
doesnt, in fact, follow established safety recommendations.
The starry sky from Disneys Aladdin, and the written
implication that suicide is somehow a liberating option,
presents suicide in too celebratory a light, Moutier said.
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Now that media is social, however, and anyone can go viral,
its more difficult to educate influencers on those issues.
(Its unclear who at the Academy sent the tweet, and the
Academy did not respond to requests for further comment.)
In either case, Moutier has some advice for organizations
and individuals talking about Williamss death online: Be
sure to acknowledge that suicide has underlying issues
and those issues can be addressed. The focus, she adds,
should be on his incredible life. It certainly shouldnt
celebrate or glorify how he died.
A quarter of the population suffers from mental health
issues that could potentially drive suicidal thoughts,
Moutier said. This is a very important issue, from a public
health standpoint, and one we need to bring to light.
Read more: Older white males like Williams face a higher
suicide risk
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