shanereid1 t1_iwz1m7p wrote on November 19, 2022 at 1:38 PM

Reply to comment by saintjimmy43 in TIL in response to infamously high suicide rates at Mapo Bridge in Seoul, South Korea, the bridge was adorned with suicide prevention messages and uplifting photos. These measures weren't enacted by the government, however, instead the entire project was financed by Samsung's life insurance division by evilclownattack

Unfortunately there have been a number of studies that have shown that this type of thing actually increases the number of deaths rather than prevents them. The theory goes that if someone is in a negative headspace but they haven't considered suicide, seeing this type of message can put the idea in their head, leading to their deaths.Even just placing flowers at the spot where someone jumped can cause a spike in the number of deaths. This is why the news no longer reports that someone committed suicide but rather that they just died suddenly. Unfortunately it's incredibly difficult to tell someone that their well meaning idea is actually causing more harm, and that they shouldn't place flowers to commemorate their loved ones.