Social Media Sentiments on Suicides at the New York City Landmark, Vessel: A Twitter Study

Paul Yip (), Yunyu Xiao (), Yucan Xu, Evangeline Chan, Florence Cheung, Christian S. Chan and Jane Pirkis
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Paul Yip: The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Yunyu Xiao: Department of Population Health Sciences, Weill Cornell Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian, New York, NY 10065, USA
Yucan Xu: The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Evangeline Chan: The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Florence Cheung: The HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Christian S. Chan: Department of Psychology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Jane Pirkis: Centre for Mental Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, Carlton VIC 3053, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 18, 1-14

Abstract: Vessel is a landmark created by Heatherwick Studio where visitors can enjoy views of New York City from different heights and perspectives. However, between February 2020 and July 2021, four individuals jumped to their deaths from the landmark. Effective preventive solutions have yet to be identified, and the site is currently closed. In this study, we examined the trajectory of public sentiment on the suicide-related activity at Vessel on Twitter by investigating the engagement patterns and identifying themes about the four suicides from February 2020 to August 2021 ( n = 3058 tweets). The results show increased levels of discussion about each successive suicide case in the first 14 days following each incident (from 6 daily tweets for the first case to 104 for the fourth case). It also took longer for relevant discussions to dissipate (4 days for the first and 14 days for the fourth case, KS statistic = 0.71, p < 0.001). Thematic analysis shows a shift from expressions of emotion to urging suicide prevention actions in the third and fourth cases; additionally, we detected growing support for restricting means. We suggest that, prior to the reopening of Vessel , collective efforts should be made to install safety protections and reduce further suicide risks.

Keywords: suicide prevention; public sentiment; restriction of means; Twitter; social media (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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