4 ms·

There's a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's famous "The Tipping Point" that deals with waves of teenage suicides. He describes that a single suicide acts as a subli

There's a chapter in Malcolm Gladwell's famous "The Tipping Point" that deals with waves of teenage suicides. He describes that a single suicide acts as a subliminal permission for this behavior to be mimicked. This permission is sent out as a beacon and susceptible agents replicate this behavior. I forget the details of it, but the point was that this could be extended to other behavior as well, possibly all behavior. The underlying connotation is that humans take on pack roles as pack animals, and are rewarded by connective activities, even suicide, as crazy as it sounds. Social media is a conduit of behavior modeling. It is best for everyone to realize this.

rchaud 3y ago
Gladwell's a good writer, but almost never backs up his positions with empirical evidence. I don't mind too much because I like his writing, but I wouldn't really trust his theories too much because he is a storyteller first.
- jandrese 3y ago
  He has a bad habit of cherry picking data to support his point.
- dabluecaboose 3y ago
  For what it's worth, media contagion[1] has been a well-known factor in suicides for decades [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm
  - kgwgk 3y ago
    Centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther#Cultural_impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther#C...
- mikey_p 3y ago
  This is something that has been documented and analyzed in meta studies as well: https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m575 https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m575
lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago
> this could be extended to other behavior I recall a story someone told (can't remember if it was a co-worker or a comment on this site) about someone in an office who stood up from their desk at 4:00 on a Friday, said, "I guess I'll take one for the team," and walked out the door. Sounds a bit like that.

rchaud 3y ago

Gladwell's a good writer, but almost never backs up his positions with empirical evidence. I don't mind too much because I like his writing, but I wouldn't really trust his theories too much because he is a storyteller first.

jandrese 3y ago
He has a bad habit of cherry picking data to support his point.
dabluecaboose 3y ago
For what it's worth, media contagion[1] has been a well-known factor in suicides for decades [1] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm
- kgwgk 3y ago
  Centuries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther#Cultural_impact https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sorrows_of_Young_Werther#C...
mikey_p 3y ago
This is something that has been documented and analyzed in meta studies as well: https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m575 https://www.bmj.com/content/368/bmj.m575

lcnPylGDnU4H9OF 3y ago

> this could be extended to other behavior I recall a story someone told (can't remember if it was a co-worker or a comment on this site) about someone in an office who stood up from their desk at 4:00 on a Friday, said, "I guess I'll take one for the team," and walked out the door. Sounds a bit like that.