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From the Netflix series 13 reasons why Beginning two years ago, parent groups, psychologists and social scientists have issued serious warnings about its glorification of suicide and teenage violence, particularly at-risk and at-risk youth .
Now, a new study offers perhaps the most concrete proof to date, associating the series with an increase in the number of suicides among adolescents. The study, published Monday in the Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry of the Child and the Adolescent, shows that in the month following the series' start in March 2017, suicide rates peaked in 19 years for US children aged 10 to 17 years.
In April 2017 alone, 190 pre-teens and teenagers lost their lives, a jump of 30% over the previous five years. Teenage boys were responsible for almost all of the increase observed that year, with girls and young adults over the age of 17 showing no increase. Nine months after the creation of 13 reasons whyThere were 195 more youth suicides than expected, according to researchers at the National Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
"This is a very disturbing confirmation of our worst fears over the past two years," said Tim Winter, chairman of the parent television board. "Netflix has the children's blood on their hands and they are still trying to defend themselves."
The first season of the show tells the story of a teenager's suicide, including a graphic scene of her death, with a complex explanation of why she did it, recorded in audio journals. The show also depicts a sexual assault and a character preparing a shooting in a school.
After the first season aired, Google seeks "How to kill me" jumped 26%. At the time, Winter had stated that there was a debate over whether this would result in more teenage suicides: "We now know that children actually acted by trying to hurt themselves ".
Suicide among adolescents has increased in recent years; it is now the second leading cause of death among adolescents. The findings of the study will likely reinforce the debate on the merits of the 13 reasons why as his third season should come out later this year.
"We have just seen this study and we are looking at research that goes against that of the University of Pennsylvania last week," a study that targeted young adults, not adolescents, said an unidentified Netflix representative. "This is an issue of crucial importance and we have worked hard to make sure we handle this sensitive issue responsibly."
So far, Netflix has not reacted much. Some episodes include a warning message and the streaming service has created a website with crisis hotline numbers and other resources. In the second season of the show, the actors advised viewers to find help. But Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, is defended 13 reasons why to shareholders last June: "It's an attractive content. … it's controversial. But no one has to look at it. "
The problem is that children look at it excessively, often without their parents knowing it. Fewer and fewer young people are watching television in the family lounge, while others consume it on mobile devices, often in intimate environments, with the screen being held closer to them. For these reasons, Winter told me that content providers like Netflix must assume greater responsibility.
In the meantime, decades of scientific research have shown that convincing descriptions of suicide in the media have a negative influence on young people. Douglas Gentile, a child psychologist and psychology professor at Iowa State University, said the results of the Nationwide Hospital study were horrendous but not surprising: to press for media violence in recent years. "
Some cautiously praised the series for opening discussions on teen suicide and its risk factors, including bullying, sexual assault and social media pressure. But Gentile said, "We can not assume that the conversation is one way. For a young person already on the dark side and considering suicide, it does not open the conversion [the right] direction."
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