Adult Suicide Risk & Online Harassment

Why this matters

Online harassment is often framed as a youth issue. It is not. Adults—particularly women, advocates, journalists, survivors, and individuals with public-facing roles—experience persistent and targeted online abuse that mirrors stalking and coercive control. When this abuse is prolonged and inescapable, it can become a serious mental-health and public-safety issue.

How common is online harassment among adults?

Nationally representative surveys show that online abuse is widespread among adults. Over 40% of U.S. adults report experiencing online harassment, and more than one in four report severe harassment, including threats, stalking, or sustained campaigns. Adult women and people engaged in advocacy or public discourse are disproportionately targeted.

Mental-health impact on adults

Peer-reviewed research consistently shows that adults who experience sustained online harassment report higher rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, and suicidal ideation. Risk increases when harassment is persistent, identity-based, or continues after blocking or disengagement.

Suicide risk: accurate framing

Suicide is always multi-factorial. However, clinical research and documented cases show that sustained online harassment can function as a significant contributing stressor in adult suicide risk, particularly when combined with isolation, lack of institutional support, or ongoing surveillance.

Documented adult cases

Some adult suicides have been widely reported or officially documented as involving sustained  online harassment or technology-facilitated abuse. These cases are included as examples based on court findings, inquests, or credible investigative reporting—not speculation. Inclusion does not imply a single cause.

Our position

Online harassment against adults is a public-health, civil-rights, and public-safety issue. Recognizing its role in mental-health harm, including suicide risk, is essential to prevention, accountability, and reform.