UA Little Rock, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention to Host Lecture on how News Media, Social Media, and Hip Hop Artists Can Help Prevent Suicide

The University of Arkansas at Little Rock and the Arkansas Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention will host a free virtual lecture July 24 on how the news media, social media, and hip hop artists can help prevent suicide.

The lecture will be held from 12:30-2 p.m. Wednesday, July 24. People can register for the lecture, “Changing the Narrative on Suicide: How News Media, Social Media, and Hip Hop Artists Can Help Us Prevent Suicide,” by visiting this website.

Dr. Mark Sinyor, assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Toronto, will share emerging data over the past decade indicating that public stories emphasizing death and despair are associated with more subsequent suicides, while stories of hope and recovery are often followed by fewer suicides. This lecture will explore hip hop songs to explain how the public can avoid more suicides and save lives through the media we consume.

Sinyor’s research mainly focuses on population-level strategies for suicide prevention with an emphasis on how media messaging impacts suicide. He serves as the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s “Partnerships for Life” lead for the Americas and is the lead author of the Canadian Psychiatric Association guidelines on responsible media reporting about suicide.

The lecture is a part of the Research Connections program, which highlights research funded by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. The event is sponsored by UA Little Rock Counseling Services, Wellness and Inclusion, and the Division of Student Affairs.

For more information, contact Dr. Aresh Assadi, director of Counseling Services at UA Little Rock, at axassadi@ualr.edu.