Sociology Commons^™

The Impact Of Widely Publicized Suicides On Search Trends: Using Google Trends To Test The Werther And Papageno Effects, John F. Gunn, Sara Goldstein, David Lester

Department of Family Science and Human Development Scholarship and Creative Works

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of widely publicized suicides on the Werther and Papageno Effects using internet search trends. A list of widely publicized suicides from 2010 through 2018 was compiled along with dates of death for each of these individuals. Google.com/trends data were then collected for searches for “how to suicide” and “suicide prevention” for 14 days prior to a widely publicized suicide/14 days after a widely publicized suicide and 7 days prior to a widely publicized suicide/7 days after a widely publicized suicide. Comparisons were then made between these time periods for “how …