Suicide News Reporting in the Thai Social Context: Decoding Communications through Media in Digital Era
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Abstract
The study of suicide news in the social context of Thailand was examined through media in digital era. Qualitative research was done with data obtained by textual analysis and in-depth interviews. The objectives were to 1) formulate a set of significance for suicide as represented on digital media and to 2) define challenges in constructing suicide prevention mechanisms in Thailand.
Results were that suicide had innovative force, impacting the public, especially during Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic life challenges, changes, and crises. Media representations of suicide reflected mixed images redolent of myth, stereotype, and conveying abnormality through multiple discourses. This situation requires revisiting journalistic principles and practices for accuracy, objectivity, and ideology as key professional ingredients. Emerging alternative images related to suicide protection and preventions may build a better public understanding of the causes of suicide. The online community serves as a liberated space for sharing suicidal emotions and experiences to create new narratives and allow the subject to be widely discussed. These findings suggest that the government should seek collaboration among all sectors and facilitate policy co-creator changes in public suicide discourse.
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