Yonsei Med J.  2014 Jan;55(1):254-263. 10.3349/ymj.2014.55.1.254.

Psychological and Social Factors Affecting Internet Searches on Suicide in Korea: A Big Data Analysis of Google Search Trends

• Song TM
• Song J
• An JY
• Hayman LL
• Woo JM

• KMID: 1779914
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.2014.55.1.254

Abstract

PURPOSE
The average mortality rate for death by suicide among OECD countries is 12.8 per 100000, and 33.5 for Korea. The present study analyzed big data extracted from Google to identify factors related to searches on suicide in Korea.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Google search trends for the search words of suicide, stress, exercise, and drinking were obtained for 2004-2010. Analyzing data by month, the relationship between the actual number of suicides and search words per year was examined using multi-level models.
RESULTS
Both suicide rates and Google searches on suicide in Korea increased since 2007. An unconditional slope model indicated stress and suicide-related searches were positively related. A conditional model showed that factors associated with suicide by year directly affected suicide-related searches. The interaction between stress-related searches and the actual number of suicides was significant.
CONCLUSION
A positive relationship between stress- and suicide-related searches further confirmed that stress affects suicide. Taken together and viewed in context of the big data analysis, our results point to the need for a tailored prevention program. Real-time big data can be of use in indicating increases in suicidality when search words such as stress and suicide generate greater numbers of hits on portals and social network sites.

Keyword

Internet; suicide; prevention and control; psychological stress; statistical models

MeSH Terms

Humans
*Internet
Republic of Korea
Socioeconomic Factors
Suicide/*psychology/*statistics & numerical data

Figure

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  Fig. 1 Research model.

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  Fig. 2 Suicide-related search results from Google Trends (http://www.google.co.kr/trends/) in Korea. The axis of X refers to month by year. The axis of Y refers to suicide search volume. *Peak refers to the point of suicide incident when a famous politician committed suicide.

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  Fig. 3 Suicide rate and suicide-related search volume in Korea.

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