Clinical Research Directory

Exploring The Effect of TikTok Trigger Warnings in a Clinical Sample of Youth at Risk of Suicide

Sponsor: Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

Summary

Rates of suicide among Canadian youth have risen steadily over the past two decades, alongside rapid growth in social media use-especially TikTok. Our research shows that TikTok contains substantial suicide-related content that may pose risks to vulnerable young people by provoking distress or encouraging copycat behaviour. Many creators add trigger warnings (TWs) to flag upsetting material, yet their impact is unclear. Although research shows mixed effects of TWs among people with trauma histories, no studies have examined TWs in the context of suicide-related content. Our recent findings indicate that TWs are associated with reduced engagement suicide-related videos on TikTok-contrary to our hypothesis that they might increase engagement. Although we can only speculate, reduced engagement may reflect youth avoiding TW-labelled content, or other unknown factors. This study will examine how a clinical population of youth at risk of suicide emotionally and behaviourally respond to TWs on self-harm and suicide-related content. Findings will provide key evidence to inform public health recommendations aimed at protecting youth from harmful content online.

Official title: Red Flag, Green Light: Exploring The Effect of TikTok Trigger Warnings in a Clinical Sample of Youth at Risk of Suicide

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