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.
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