Study finds '13 Reasons Why' spiked major suicide-related internet searches
Searches for "how to commit suicide" surged 26 percent
Searches for "how to commit suicide" surged 26 percent
A new study in a journal for showed internet searches for suicide and suicide attempts spiked dramatically after Netflix鈥檚 March 2017 release of 13 Reasons Why, the that .
Cumulatively, searches for suicide-related topics surged 19 percent in the 19 days after the show dropped. Specifically, 鈥渉ow to commit suicide鈥� searches increased 26 percent, 鈥渃ommit suicide鈥� increased 18 percent, and 鈥渉ow to kill yourself鈥� increased 9 percent.
Other terms that spiked were 鈥溾� (a 21 percent increase in searches) and 鈥渢een suicide鈥� (a 34 percent spike).
The researchers wrote it was 鈥渦nclear鈥� if any of the searches actually led to suicide attempts, but that 鈥渟uicide search trends are correlated with actual suicides, media coverage of suicides concur with increased suicide attempts, and searches for precise suicide methods increased after the series鈥� release.鈥�
President of the Child Mind Institute Dr. Harold S. Koplewicz told the study led him to believe the 鈥漜ost-benefit ratio [for Netflix of the show] isn't worth it." He warned "Suicide in teenagers is contagious. Period.鈥�
If you or someone you know needs help, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).