News - Paper of the month
Social media influencers and the Papageno effect - experimental evidence for the suicide-preventive impact of social media posts on hope, healing, and recovery.
We have a new paper of the month!
Florian Arendt and colleagues conducted an RCT with 354 participants that showed that social media posts with Papageno narratives by an influencer with lived experience of suicidal ideation and behavior, based on posts by Kevin Hines, significantly reduced suicidal thoughts in the general population and improved intentions to seek help - especially among people with comparatively higher vulnerability. The results underline the potential of social media for suicide prevention.
Reference for citation:
Arendt, F., Till, B., Gutsch, A., & Niederkrotenthaler T. (2025). Social media influencers and the Papageno effect: Experimental evidence for the suicide-preventive impact of social media posts on hope, healing, and recovery. Social Science & Medicine, 370, 117852. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2025.117852.