There is a need for suicide prevention efforts to intervene on Tumblr and use this platform in a strategic way, given the depression and suicidal content readily observed on Tumblr, according to a recent study. Researchers monitored 17 popular depression-related Tumblr accounts for new posts and engagement with other Tumblr users. A total of 3,360 posts were randomly selected from all historical posts from these accounts and coded based on themes. They found:

• The 17 Tumblr accounts posted a median number of 185 posts.

• Content was engaged with (ie, reblogged or liked) a median number of 1,677,362 times.

• Of all of the randomly selected posts, 2,739 (82%) were related to depression, suicide, or self-harm.

• Common themes were self-loathing (412, 15%), loneliness/feeling unloved (405, 15%), self-harm (407, 15%), and suicide (372, 14%).

Citation: Cavazos-Rehg PA, Krauss MJ, Sowles SJ, et al. An analysis of depression, self-harm, and suicidal ideation content on Tumblr. [Published online ahead of print July 22, 2016]. Crisis. doi:10.1027/0227-5910/a000409.