Internet searches on suicide went up after ‘13 Reasons Why’ released by Netflix
The fear of Hannah Baker-copycats is not just theoretical
Adapted from a story by The Washington Post’s Madhumita Murgia.
In the season finale of the popular Netflix TV series “13 Reasons Why,” 17-year-old student Hannah Baker kills herself in a prolonged three-minute scene.
The 13-episode series, which was released all at once, captured the imagination of kids across the country. But new research suggests that the show could have triggered suicidal thoughts in its young viewers.
In April, “13 Reasons Why” set a record for the most-tweeted-about show in 2017: It was mentioned more than 11 million times within three weeks of its March 31 launch.
A study published in JAMA Internal Medicine has found that within the same three weeks, Internet searches about suicide were significantly higher than expected.
Overall, suicide queries — such as “how to commit suicide,” “commit suicide” and “how to kill yourself” — were 19 percent higher in the 19 days following the series’ release, “reflecting 900,000 to 1.5 million more searches than expected,” the paper reported.
Analyses suggest “13 Reasons Why,” in its present form, has both increased suicidal awareness while unintentionally increasing suicidal ideation,” the authors wrote.
While Netflix provided links to suicide prevention websites, the number for a hotline and included warnings ahead of its three most graphic episodes, mental health professionals are still concerned about the influence of the show.
“Past studies have validated that Internet searches mirror real-world suicide rates, so suicide rates have likely gone up as a result of this program,” said John Ayers, professor of public health at San Diego State University. “For me, as a data-driven public health scientist, I see this troubling data as a strong call to action. The show must be taken down.”
Since its release, hundreds of school superintendents across the United States have sent warnings to parents about the show’s possible effects on their children’s mental health. The National Association of School Psychologists put out a public caution, recommending that young people with known suicidal thoughts stay away from the show completely. Some have suggested removing the scenes showing suicide to curtail the effects of the show.
The fear of Hannah Baker-copycats is not just theoretical — several child psychiatrists have already begun to see suicidal patients who bring up the show during treatment.
Dan Nelson, medical director of the child psychiatry inpatient unit at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, says “13 Reasons Why” first caused him alarm when he spoke with a 12-year-old patient about it in May.
“She said to me, ‘I saw that show and it really convinced me that suicide was a normal thing to do,’” Nelson said. “I’ve never heard that. In 30 years, I’ve never heard a child say this thing made me think suicide is normal. That really got my attention.”
Heidi Anderson, an 18-year-old high school student from northern Kentucky, said that, as the survivor of a suicide attempt, she could only make herself watch bits of the series.
“I feel it very much glamorizes it,” she said. “I feel it shows how much attention you get, and I don’t think it’s bringing attention to the right parts of suicide.”
In a statement, Netflix said: “We always believed this show would increase discussion around this tough subject matter. This is an interesting quasi-experimental study that confirms this. We are looking forward to more research and taking everything we learn to heart as we prepare for Season 2.”
But Madelyn Gould, a youth suicide expert and professor of epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University, questions the worth of that discussion.
“Even if the series raised some awareness,” Gould said, “the question the creators need to ask is — at what price?”
