Choices Over Consequences

Category: Uncategorized

  • Teen Suicide on Screen: What the Research Shows

    When a show about teen suicide becomes a cultural phenomenon, it does more than trend. It enters bedrooms, group chats, and late night scrolling sessions. For many teenagers, these stories feel personal and urgent. But researchers have been asking a difficult question: what happens when suicide is portrayed in vivid detail to a young audience?

    The answer, according to several major studies, is that portrayal is not neutral.

    In 2020, researchers such as Thomas Niederkrotenthaler published a study in JAMA Psychiatry examining U.S. suicide rates after the release of the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why. For those of you unfamiliar with the show, 13 Reasons Why follows a high school student, Hannah Baker, who dies by suicide and leaves behind a series of recorded tapes explaining the reasons she made this decision. Each episode centers on one of those “reasons,” portraying bullying, assault, and social isolation as contributing factors. The first season originally included a graphic depiction of Hannah’s suicide, which later drew criticism from mental health professionals.

    Researchers found that in the months following the show’s debut in April 2017, suicide rates among young, particularly boys aged ten to seventeen, increased significantly compared to expected trends. Some estimates suggested roughly a 28 percent increase among this age group in the month immediately after the release.

    However, the study did not claim that the show directly “caused” individual suicides. Instead, it showed a statistically significant population level increase that could not be explained by seasonal patterns alone. In other words, the timing mattered.

    For a show centered on a graphic, emotionally charged suicide narrative, the findings raised serious concerns about how stories are framed and delivered.

    This phenomenon is not new. Researchers have documented what is known as the Werther effect, named after Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther, written in the 18th century.

    In modern research, David Gould and colleagues in 2003 found that highly publicized and sensationalized suicide coverage in the media was associated with subsequent increases in suicide rates. The more detailed and dramatic the coverage, the stronger the effect.

    In simple terms, what people see can influence what they consider possible. When suicide is shown as a powerful response to pain, it may make the idea feel more real or available to someone who is already struggling. Teenagers can be especially vulnerable because they are still developing emotionally and may act more impulsively than adults.

    This does not mean media alone causes suicide. But, it does mean that how suicide is portrayed can affect the risk of viewers and potentially influence them.

    In a world where streaming platforms reach millions of teenagers overnight, storytelling carries weight, For some viewers, these narratives are not just entertainment. They can feel personal, validating, or even instructive. When decades of research show that certain portrayals increase risk, the conversation shifts from opinion to evidence.

    The overall goal is not to silence difficult stories. It is to tell them in ways that protect, rather than harm, the people watching.

    Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among adolescents in the United States. When evidence suggests that certain portrayals increase risks are followed by measurable increases in youth suicide rates, that is no longer a cultural discussion. It is a public health concern.

  • The Entropy Theory of Everyday Decisions

    Most people think choices happen in the moment. You pick this or that, yes or no, now or later. But, physics says something different. Physics tells us that every tiny action changes the entire system around it in ways we cannot totally see.

    In thermodynamics there is something called entropy, which is basically the measure of disordered. The Nobel Prize Committee once described entropy as the way energy naturally spreads out unless something is intentionally stopping it. In other words, the universe does not drift towards structure. It drifts toward mess, unless we choose to direct it.

    So, you might be wondering, what does this have to do with us saying no to something risky, or saying yes to something that moves us forward?

    Well, choice is the force that pushes back against mental entropy.

    Your day is not just something you move through, but rather a system you influence. If you stay positive, the natural direction is drift. Your mind slips into the easiest patterns instead of what’s best. Disorder rises, not because you are weak, but because that is simply how systems behave when nothing pushes back.

    But, the moment you make a deliberate choice – even a small one – you drop energy back into your system and suddenly the path changes. One intentional moment becomes a hinge that redirects everything else.

    Physicist Arthur Eddington once said that if your theory goes against the law of entropy, it will not survive. Choices Over Consequences is basically the opposite idea. If your actions go against entropy you will survive, grow, and move. Additionally, Psychologist Roy Baumeister’s work on self control found that it operates like a limited resource, and it drains throughout the day as we resist impulses or make decisions. But, the deeper truth is this: self control uses energy because it is actively fighting the system’s natural slide toward disorder. These studies show that when people exert self control, their cognitive resources temporarily descrease. But, when they make intentional choices early, later choices become easier. This is due to the fact that early structure reduces later entropy.

    So, every choice you make – all of them – is a way of lowering your entropy of your own life. It is not about perfect, or toughness, or pretending everything is easy. It is about recognizing that you have the power to add energy back into your day whenever you decide to.

    You cannot stop the universe from drifting, but you can stop yourself from drifting with it. Every time you choose intention over impulse, you bend the future in your favor.

    Sources:

    • Baumeister, R. F., Bratslavsky, E., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (1998). Ego depletion: Is the active self a limited resource? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(5), 1252–1265.
    • Muraven, M., & Baumeister, R. F. (2000). Self regulation and depletion of limited resources: Does self control resemble a muscle? Psychological Bulletin, 126(2), 247–259.
    • Eddington, A. (1928). The Nature of the Physical World. Cambridge University Press.

  • The Hardest Thing to Say

    We all say it sometimes without realizing it — “That could never be me.” It is an easy thought to have when you hear about someone getting into an accident or making a choice that changed everything. But that same mindset is what often keeps people from stepping in when they see a friend about to take a risk. It is not that we do not care, but rather that we convince ourselves to think that everything will be fine.

    I used to think speaking up was something you only needed to do in big, serious situations. But most of the time, it starts small. It is when your friends grabs their keys, even though they are too tired to drive. It is when someone says, “I’m fine,” but you know they are not. It is when you feel that quiet sense that something could go wrong, and you decide whether to ignore it or act on it.

    A study I read by psychologists Latane and Darley explained why people hesitate in moments like these. They called it the “bystander effect.” It means that the more people there are around, the less likely anyone is to act, because everyone assumes someone else will. The same idea can happen even between two close friends. We tell ourselves it is not our place or that it is not as serious as it seems. But in reality, that hesitation can make all the difference.

    I have been in those moments where it feels uncomfortable to say something. You start to wonder, What if they get mad? What if I’m wrong? But then I think about how much worse it would feel if something actually happened. Most of the time, people respect honesty more than silence. When you speak up, even in small ways, it reminds your friends that you care about them enough to say something when it matters.

    The truth is, it takes more courage to stop someone for a second than to pretend you did not notice. Those seconds are what keep people safe. You never really know how much a small voice can change the outcome of a moment until you use it.

    Source: Latané, B., & Darley, J. M. (1968). Group Inhibition of Bystander Intervention in Emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.

  • The Power of Choice

    The older I get, the more I realize that every decision, no matter how small or forgetable, says something about who I’m becoming. Between sports, school, and everything else going on, it’s easy to forget that even small decisions can shape who we are. I started reading and watching more about why people make the choices they do, and I came across this study called “Peer Influences on Adolescent Decision Making.” It immediately caught my attention because it explained something I think most teenagers feel but never really talk about.

    According to the study, when teens are around their friends, the reward center of the brain becomes more active, which makes risky behavior feel more exciting. Essentially, our brains are wired to make peer pressure feel good in the moment. Reading this makes me realize that saying no is not only about your willpower but understanding what is happening in your own mind. Once you understand this, you start to realize how much control you actually have. Keeping this in mind can make a crucial difference in your day-to-day decision making, and I have already started to notice it myself!

    I have also realized that it is easy to fall into moments that do not seem like a big deal at the time. Maybe it’s saying yes to something you’re unsure about, or staying quiet when you should speak up. But those moments can define us. I’ve noticed that the times I have stopped, thought, and made the safer choice ended up being the moments I was content with later on. The feeling of stress after a bad decision is something everyone understands – that pit in your stomach that makes you wish you could change something that is already in the past. Those moments are a remainder that even small choices can have actual lasting effects (especially as a chronic overthinker).

    I’ve made mistakes and learned from them, but I think that is the point. Every decision, good or bad, teaches you something about who you are and who you want to be.

    Source: Steinberg, L. (2008). Peer Influences on Adolescent Decision Making. Current Directions in Psychological Science.