Meme culture and suicide sensitivity: a quantitative study

People worldwide are bogged down with a multitude of issues, many of which may need some form of coping mechanism to counteract the negative beliefs that accompany those issues. For many, memes have become that coping mechanism. Looking at memes, the present study ascertained the effects that constant viewing of memes has on sensitivity when dealing with one of the most difficult concerns anyone can face, suicide. Using a pre-test/post-test design, participants (n = 51) were given a questionnaire to see how familiar they are with certain memes and to create a baseline for reactions to key phrases. The level of familiarity is broken down into three groups to understand the long-term effects of memes. The short-term effects were decided based on the intervention phase. During the intervention phase, the experimental group saw memes about suicide and depression, while the control group saw generally themed memes before the post-test was taken. Data is analyzed looking for a change between baseline and post-test results. The findings have shown that there are no long-term effects of memes which is a good sign, but there is a short-term effect and that is where the danger lies. Authors believed that findings would show a decrease in suicide sensitivity after participants view the suicide/depression-themed memes. In the end, the study found that the effects of memes are not long-term, but in fact only affect viewers for a limited time. Further research needs to be conducted in order to arrive at a more representative sample and subsequent conclusion.

Ryan Weiser, Nafees Alam