13 Reasons Why associated with increase in suicides

[Anonymous]

I don't have a teenager (yet) and have never seen this show, but this seemed like an important study to share.

Release of "13 Reasons Why" Associated with Increase in Youth Suicide Rates
NIH-supported study highlights the importance of responsible portrayal of suicide by the media

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/news/science-news/2019/release-of-13-reasons-why-associated-with-increase-in-youth-suicide-rates.shtml

[Anonymous]

Isn’t the show about suicide?
I haven’t seen it but this conclusion isn’t surprising.

[Anonymous]

I am a middle school teacher and haven’t seen the show but have read enough about it to think it is terrible for kids. They are young and impressionable and any discussion of such serious topics needs to be well thought-out and extremely intentional. The show didn’t seem to reflect that.

[Anonymous]

The show certainly doesn't make suicide seem glamourous. Simply talking about suicide doesn't make it happen more.

[Anonymous]

How are people on here even commenting if they never saw it? The show, which I watched, with my middle school aged son and husband, is about what leads up to suicide. It portrays how even the smallest of things can have a huge negative impact on a child. How taking the life of one person effects a great amount of people. See the show or shut up

[Anonymous]

Didn’t the study merely note a time frame correlation? I haven’t read it but I heard on wTOP that the study authors could not even confirm that those who died had even watched the show.

I did watch the show with my kids, one of whom did try to kill himself a number of times. I actually thought it did a good job in showing kids what happens to those left behind and how it’s not just about you. I also thought it did a good job in pointing out how some behaviors that are ignored make others feel.

[Anonymous]

I watched the first one with my teen daughter and we both thought it was stupid. The show basically blames her suicide on things that her friends did and didn't do some of which wasn't even intentional, in addition she was a messed up girl to begin with. We hate watched the episodes. How the friend in the brand new leather jacket that he wore every day would just pop up, how stereotypical the teen interactions were as well as the interactions with the parents. The whole thing was terribly produced and basically an after school special level of a show

[Anonymous]

This study was crap and made for a good headline.

[Anonymous]

Suicide is contagious. All of the attention given to a lost life seems like redemption.

The best read is actually Victorian Suicides. It tracks how people committed suicide in sync with the type of death reported in the daily papers. It is a very interesting read and is congruent with modern studies. I didn't read the one listed in this post, but I have read many others. They were about teens and elders. I focused on those two groups. Elders kill themselves due to isolation, fear of pain and further aging, or with a diagnosis. Teens kill themselves from shame, the intensity of life, simple risk-taking (accidental death), revenge ("I'll show them that I matter!!"), redemption ("They'll be sorry!"), and performance/attention.

In Victorian Suicides, you'll find the story of one policeman who stopped a run of teen girl suicides in his small town by declaring that instead of a funeral, he would place the body, nude, in the town square. Crazy! They stopped. Studies would say he took away the reward of suicide, the veneration and the celebratory aspect.

I love that 08:57 watched the show with her DD and they ended up framing it as ridiculous and a non-response to the situation. With teens it's most important that you demonstrate the power of CHANGING your life, rather than ending it. Kill that life, not yourself. Kill that thinking, not yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I watched the first one with my teen daughter and we both thought it was stupid. The show basically blames her suicide on things that her friends did and didn't do some of which wasn't even intentional, in addition she was a messed up girl to begin with. We hate watched the episodes. How the friend in the brand new leather jacket that he wore every day would just pop up, how stereotypical the teen interactions were as well as the interactions with the parents. The whole thing was terribly produced and basically an after school special level of a show

I've read the book, and watched the show with my teenagers and I agree entirely. We did use it as a starting point to talk about different experiences, characters, and how to handle difficult situations.

I think that some of the reasons why are so minor that another teen, in a much worse situation, may take the entire show the wrong way. I think the show is more of a disservice to teens and the topic of suicide. Still, I used it to talk through all of the pitfalls in the show with my teens.

[Anonymous]

That link didn't work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The show certainly doesn't make suicide seem glamourous. Simply talking about suicide doesn't make it happen more.

It does, actually. And you aren't watching it through the eyes of someone vulnerable to suicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The show certainly doesn't make suicide seem glamorous. Simply talking about suicide doesn't make it happen more.

It does, actually. And you aren't watching it through the eyes of someone vulnerable to suicide.

Agreed.

If you feel invisible, suicide gives you attention. Even 13 Reasons why had the girl showing others what they did (or didn't do) to her through her suicide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Suicide is contagious. All of the attention given to a lost life seems like redemption.

The best read is actually Victorian Suicides. It tracks how people committed suicide in sync with the type of death reported in the daily papers. It is a very interesting read and is congruent with modern studies. I didn't read the one listed in this post, but I have read many others. They were about teens and elders. I focused on those two groups. Elders kill themselves due to isolation, fear of pain and further aging, or with a diagnosis. Teens kill themselves from shame, the intensity of life, simple risk-taking (accidental death), revenge ("I'll show them that I matter!!"), redemption ("They'll be sorry!"), and performance/attention.

In Victorian Suicides, you'll find the story of one policeman who stopped a run of teen girl suicides in his small town by declaring that instead of a funeral, he would place the body, nude, in the town square. Crazy! They stopped. Studies would say he took away the reward of suicide, the veneration and the celebratory aspect.

I love that 08:57 watched the show with her DD and they ended up framing it as ridiculous and a non-response to the situation. With teens it's most important that you demonstrate the power of CHANGING your life, rather than ending it. Kill that life, not yourself. Kill that thinking, not yourself.

Wow, that's brilliant.

[Anonymous]

I've watched it with all of my kids (ages 11-19) and thought it was decently well done on showing what leads up to suicide. Little things others do that can contribute to hurting others and driving them in that direction.

Plus the other topics discussed were important talk pieces as well... rape, #MeToo culture, drinking, drugs, lying, sexting, sexuality, school violence, etc.