Understanding the benefits and roles of mobile instant messaging use for the Korean elderly’s mental health: An exploratory study focusing on emotional recovery and suicide prevention

Abstract

Purpose In Korea, every 35 minutes someone takes their own life. The suicide rate was particularly high among the elderly population over the age of 60, with 49.2 deaths per 100,000 population (World Health Organization, 2021). Suicidal ideation is one of the strongest predictors of suicide attempts (Nock et al., 2008); it's known that a majority of people who attempt suicide often communicate their intent to others in advance of this (Hawton, Houston, & Shepperd, 1999; Isometsa, 2001). People's responses to others' symptoms of depression or suicidal ideation play an important role in preventing suicide and providing the appropriate help in a timely, supportive manner (Van Orden et al, 2006). This study explores the benefits and barriers of disclosing feelings of depression or suicidal ideation to others. In addition, this research investigates how the elderly react to expressing their mental health issues online, particularly those interactions via mobile instant messaging. Mobile instant messaging (MIM) has become a dominant form of everyday communication among the Korean elderly population (KISDI, 2021). As expressions of suicide-related feelings via social media are associated with seeking peer support, it is important to examine how the elderly communicate and respond to suicidal ideation or their fluctuating mental health state in digital spaces. Method An online survey was conducted in Korea. In order to obtain representative samples, data was gathered by a team from professional research company. The participants were assigned to read one of three vignettes, and then asked to complete a questionnaire assessing their reaction to target, health literacy, mental health/suicide stigma, digital literacy, mobile media usage, and expressive depression. Results and Discussion It became apparent that the participants felt that they were burdening the other person when expressing their negative feelings in a face-to-face context. On the other hand, they believed using MIM was preferential because it removed the need for the other person to experience this pressure, so that they were able to express themselves more freely. This study presents how the potential for MIM can be best harnessed, as well as some key learning points for its use. It examines the way in which Korean elderly people typically express their negative emotions and suggests that a practical use of MIM is through helping users regulate their feelings of negative emotions. In addition, this research confirmed that emotional expression via MIM is a powerful factor influencing emotional recovery. Barriers to expressing feelings of depression in face-to-face communication were observed, while benefits of using MIM were revealed. Meanwhile, the results found that when the elderly were confident in expressing negative emotions or suicidal ideations via MIM, then this higher health literacy helped reduce the stigma associated with mental health/suicide. In turn, this led to a greater willingness to recommend professional help. This study highlights the benefits of utilizing MIM as a channel to disclose feelings of depression which may then lead enhancing emotional well-being.