Does Society Justify the Suicide?

One out of three Americans believes that under no circumstances should a person commit suicide. Meetville.com (dating app to find the right person) revealed the public attitude to suicide in the course of a poll, conducted between 6/13/14 and 9/19/14.

The poll posed the question: “Is suicide okay?” to which 67% gave a negative answer.

“Lack of connection is a key reason why people have suicidal thoughts; isolation contributes to and escalates their pain,” says Scott Poland, Ed.D, the prevention division director at the American Association of Suicidology. “It’s important to take any suicide thought or attempt seriously. People don’t have to suddenly step into a therapist’s shoes and counsel the person. But there are important ways they can help.”

73,255 people participated in the poll.  An overwhelming majority from the USA (88%) speak strongly against suicide. The problem exists in many other countries: from Canada there were 2% of participants, from Britain - 4%, from Australia - 3% and from other countries - 3%.

According to Alex Cusper, Meetville service analyst, “regardless of the morality or even legality of committing suicide, this action still entails death, and definitely if it becomes more socially acceptable, the value of life will diminish gradually. That can have a negative impact, especially on the youth.”

Meetville, a leading mobile dating service, regularly conducts research among its users. Millions of people from the U.S., Canada, Britain and Australia answer hundreds of questions every month. You can find the results of the poll here. If you are interested in research on a particular topic, please contact us. Any reprint of the material should be followed by clickable links to the survey.