PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Lewis, Stephen P.
AU  - Heath, Nancy L.
AU  - St Denis, Jill M.
AU  - Noble, Rick
TI  - The Scope of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury on YouTube
AID  - 10.1542/peds.2010-2317
DP  - 2011 Mar 01
TA  - Pediatrics
PG  - e552--e557
VI  - 127
IP  - 3
4099  - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/3/e552.short
4100  - http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/127/3/e552.full
SO  - Pediatrics2011 Mar 01; 127
AB  - OBJECTIVE: Nonsuicidal self-injury, the deliberate destruction of one's body tissue (eg, self-cutting, burning) without suicidal intent, has consistent rates ranging from 14% to 24% among youth and young adults. With more youth using video-sharing Web sites (eg, YouTube), this study examined the accessibility and scope of nonsuicidal self-injury videos online.METHODS: Using YouTube's search engine (and the following key words: “self-injury” and “self-harm”), the 50 most viewed character (ie, with a live individual) and noncharacter videos (100 total) were selected and examined across key quantitative and qualitative variables.RESULTS: The top 100 videos analyzed were viewed over 2 million times, and most (80%) were accessible to a general audience. Viewers rated the videos positively (M = 4.61; SD: 0.61 out of 5.0) and selected videos as a favorite over 12 000 times. The videos' tones were largely factual or educational (53%) or melancholic (51%). Explicit imagery of self-injury was common. Specifically, 90% of noncharacter videos had nonsuicidal self-injury photographs, whereas 28% of character videos had in-action nonsuicidal self-injury. For both, cutting was the most common method. Many videos (58%) do not warn about this content.CONCLUSIONS: The nature of nonsuicidal self-injury videos on YouTube may foster normalization of nonsuicidal self-injury and may reinforce the behavior through regular viewing of nonsuicidal self-injury–themed videos. Graphic videos showing nonsuicidal self-injury are frequently accessed and received positively by viewers. These videos largely provide nonsuicidal self-injury information and/or express a hopeless or melancholic message. Professionals working with youth and young adults who enact nonsuicidal self-injury need to be aware of the scope and nature of nonsuicidal self-injury on YouTube.