‘How do we keep up to the pace with how quickly things get shared?’: A qualitative study on the role of social media in community-based suicide postvention

Background: There are concerns about the role social media plays in introducing or exacerbating risk for suicide contagion in the aftermath of a youth suicide, both in Australia and internationally. Across Australia, postvention support is provided to bereaved communities by a variety of government-funded and community-led organisations. However, despite established protocols to guide community postvention responses in some organisations, there is a lack of reliable guidance on the management of social media in this context. This study aims to understand the needs of postvention service providers in navigating social media as part of a postvention response, and to inform the development of specialized resources and support tools, including real-time social media response campaigns. Methods: Four focus groups were held with 18 participants from postvention services and community organisations across Australia, with discussions informed by a semi-structured interview guide. Focus groups were audio recorded, transcribed, and analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Results: Three themes were generated: 1) a dynamic, evolving social media landscape, 2) postvention and the social media wildfire, and 3) social media postvention guidelines: targeted and tailored. Participants described a fast-paced and challenging social media environment that complicates an already volatile period in postvention. Social media content in the wake of a suicide was compared to a “wildfire” that is difficult to contain and spreads rapidly, with social media management in postvention often being more reactive than preventative. Participants also identified several ways in which social media can be advantageous, including directing young people to local support services. Suggestions were provided to improve existing resources and create new, practical, and actionable tools and templates to support postvention providers.Conclusion: Social media presents both opportunities and challenges as a medium for communication about suicide during postvention. Findings from this study informed edition two of #chatsafe for communities: using social media for suicide prevention and postvention, a set of guidelines providing practical strategies to help communities proactively encourage safe online communication and respond effectively when young people are impacted by suicide.