The number of suicides among teens aged 13 to 14 in the US more than doubled between 2008 and 2018, coinciding with increased use of social media. According to a study by researchers at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).

A study prepared by the FAA Schmidt School of Medicine also shows that these “increasing trends” in suicide deaths were similar by sex or race in that age group in urban and rural areas.; although in rural areas, where guns are easier to access, they were more common.

Thus, in In rural areas, firearms were used in 46.7% of juvenile suicides, while in metropolitan areas – 34.7%.

Suicides have been committedmore frequent between September and May and were highest on Mondays, then the rest of the week,” which, according to the study, suggests that school stress contributes to suicidal thoughts in teenagers.

“While further analytical studies are needed, the results of our study have important clinical and public health implications,” said Sarah C. Wood, lead author and FAU professor of pediatrics.

Wood, also chair of women’s and children’s health at the Schmidt College of Medicine, said the study data points to a “temporal correlation” between social media use, school stress and firearms, though more research is needed.

Professor Charles H. Hennekens, co-author of the study, noted for his part that “in the years immediately preceding the rise in suicide rates among children aged 13 to 14, several social media platforms were launched. teenagers.

Hennekens singled out Reddit, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace and Tumblr among the most used by teenagers. “Cumulatively, all these sites have grown to billions of users; but as big as they are, in 2018 Instagram and Snapchat surpassed all but YouTube in terms of teen usage.”

“Our data show that Outside metropolitan areas, teenage suicide rates are higher regardless of the method and in rural areas the rates are higher due to firearms,” Hennekens said.

In the United States, suicide has become the second leading cause of premature death in people aged 10–24 and the leading cause of death in adolescents aged 13–14.

(EFE)