Are the recent incidences of suicides from bridges different from past incidences, when barriers were not recommended?
Two things are different at this time. The first is that we experienced a number of suicides within a short space of time, creating what researchers call a “suicide cluster,” whereby the notoriety of incidences results in an imitative or contagion effect, increasing the risk of further suicides. This effect is particularly noted among suicides of young people. The second difference compounds the first: the rise of the Internet and other social media means that news is spread quickly and can be accessed and replayed many times over. Local, national and international media attention was intensely focused on the recent bridge suicides, dramatically enhancing the iconic nature of Ithaca’s multiple jumping sites. Vulnerable individuals, especially young people, may be particularly drawn to public places that have become known as suicide sites. The rise or persistence of a place as an iconic suicide magnet and the phenomenon of suicide contagion both seem to be enhanced by the degree and len
