Prevention, Not Promotion: Glorification of suicide in media is detrimental to those struggling mentally

With the suicide rate steadily increasing each year since 2000, the media has developed a morbid fascination with the tragic concept of killing oneself. It seems that each time we open Netflix and Twitter, yet another show or hashtag normalizes suicide.

Inspired by TV shows like “13 Reasons Why,” the media frenzies over celebrities who have taken their own lives. Social media posts are far too comfortable in spreading sensitive — and often false — information.

Depictions of suicide in the media are often oversimplified, romanticized and graphic. There shouldn’t be a concern of an increase in the suicide rate simply due to reading an article or watching a movie that depicts graphic content. However — due to wrongful depictions of such tragedies — there unfortunately is.

After the release of “13 Reasons Why” — which poorly illustrates the mental state of teens struggling with suicidal ideation or self-harm — suicide rates hit a 33-year high in the U.S. This is the opposite of what the show was trying to accomplish in following the aftermath of a teen suicide. The responsible phenomenon is called the media contagion effect.

According to the contagion effect, celebrity suicides in film and TV correlate to an increase in widespread suicide rates. The phenomenon’s impact can be small-scale, like hearing about back-to-back suicide attempts at a nearby school, or big enough to cause a 10% increase in suicide rates over five months, like in the case of Robin Williams’s suicide.

Reports included specific details of his suicide method that sparked a 32.3% increase in deaths by the same method, according to a study conducted by PLOS ONE, an open-access and rigorously peer-reviewed online journal.

However, the contagion effect doesn’t apply every time a celebrity dies by suicide, as proved in the case of Kurt Cobain. When Cobain was found dead in 1994, Seattle news stations covered suicide prevention and mental health resourcess, focusing on his family’s pain following his death rather than the death itself. The insubstantial change in suicide rates after Cobain’s death clearly reflect the findings of studies conducted on the contagion effect — proving that media coverage can have disastrous effects.

The reason certain deaths have less national impact comes down to how sugar-coated and glorified each suicide is portrayed. If reporting is done well and specific phrases like “commit suicide” are avoided, details of the manner of death are withheld and the person is recognized for more than their suicide, then the contagion effect is far less likely to occur, according to licensed Children’s Mercy social worker Michelle Camerer. 

However, oversimplification of suicidal ideation is equally detrimental to those struggling with mental health. Claiming that suicide is caused by only a few events invalidates serious mental illness leading to suicide, causing confusion when differentiating one’s own valid, yet temporary struggles from severe cases of mental illness.

A tendency to categorize a suicide as poetic or beautiful not only portrays events incorrectly, but also recklessly insinuates that suicide can be justified. Apple TV’s hit show “Ted Lasso” is one of the few shows which aptly discusses mental health by addressing how suicide can affect families. It accurately depicts mental health treatment as a process that can’t be resolved in just one episode. The show doesn’t justify characters’ mental health complications, but instead lays out realistic ways to treat and cope with these struggles.

Recently, social media is largely responsible for perpetuating the narrative of the “beauty in suicide.” For instance, Twitter tags such as #cutting skyrocketed 500% since October 2021, according to the misinformation index Network Contagion Research Institute. 

Trivializing a form of self-harm is damaging to those who come across these posts. Oversharing graphic details of self harm or suicide can be triggering for those who are working to free themselves of suicidal thoughts.

That’s not to say that we shouldn’t discuss suicide at all. Sharing thoughts and feelings can be beneficial, but generally speaking, according to Camerer, suicide becomes an issue for those who struggle with a buildup of long-term emotional issues or mental illness — not in people who have been wronged in 13 individual events, as portrayed and defended by “13 Reasons Why.”

By portraying suicide in a trivial or romanticized way, people may not view legitimate mental health issues as being cause for concern. If someone’s experiences aren’t reflected in the media, they may avoid getting help because they assume they don’t need it.

These factors push the notion that suicide is a correct or reasonable response to trauma or mental health struggles without offering up alternative solutions or even calling suicide what it really is: a tragedy. If they do provide content warnings or resources, it’s in a performative way that doesn’t begin to offset the harmful effects of the content itself. 

Those struggling mentally shouldn’t find a reason to die in a news article, a movie or on social media. 

By following media guidelines, seeking input from professionals when producing content and calling for social media platforms to regulate suicide-related content, those who are struggling can find better long-term solutions to their mental health challenges.