Wake schools recommends students steer clear of Netflix show '13 Reasons Why'
Wake County public schools this week joined other systems across the country, recommending that students not watch the new Netflix series, "13 Reasons Why."
Posted — UpdatedWake County public schools this week joined other systems across the country, recommending that students not watch the new Netflix series, "13 Reasons Why," which depicts a teen's graphic suicide.
Mental health experts, including several I spoke with, have raised concerns about the way the series depicts suicide. Some have said it could do "more harm than good" in efforts to prevent teen suicides.
Research shows that teens who are struggling with suicidal thoughts and mental illness are more likely to attempt suicide when a family member or classmate has died by suicide – or even the lead character of a popular TV series.
Seeing somebody, especially a person who appears to have everything together, die by suicide can spur other teens, with already low self esteem and mental health issues, to make the same decision for themselves, Ann Oshel, senior vice president of community relations at Alliance Behavioral Healthcare, which serves Wake, Durham, Cumberland and Johnston counties, told me last week.
"We have heightened concerns about copycat suicide, especially if it’s somebody really popular in school – a cheerleader, athlete, student body president," Oshel said in my article last week.
Since writing that story, I've heard from many parents, who told me that their middle school or high school student has watched the series without their knowledge. One middle school student had seen the entire series three times since it was released in late March. Many simply had access to their family's Netflix account and were watching it from their phones or tablets in their bedrooms or when their parents weren't home.
"We do not recommend that your student watch the series," Elliott writes. "However, if your student is going to or already has watched the series, we encourage you to watch it together and discuss your reactions to the issues raised in the series."
The alert, found on the system's website, shares more resources and tips for parents, along with information about Wake's middle school and high school suicide prevention program.
Other schools also are alerting parents to concerns about the show.
Despite concerns, the show is popular. According to the AP story, the show has 340,000 Twitter followers and 2.4 million likes on Facebook. Actress and singer Selena Gomez, who produced the series and has struggled with mental illness, said she was ready for backlash.
"It's going to come no matter what. It's not an easy subject to talk about," she said in the AP story. "But I'm very fortunate with how it's doing."
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