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For more or less any topic we can think of, social media has great potential for both good and harm. One example is suicidal distress. It is increasingly common for people to express despairing and suicidal thoughts on social media sites. On the one hand this is to be welcomed, as more public expression of such feelings could lead to a reduction in stigma. However, the public airing of statements and images associated with suicide and self-harm could also feed into a normalisation of these behaviours whereby they become seen as less extreme responses.
Article by Jonathan Scourfield, Professor of Social Work at Cardiff University linked to the COSMOS social media observatory which was set up with funding from the Economic and Social Research Council.