Experts say the new season of '13 Reasons Why' has a dangerous problem that the show fails to address
- The Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is back for a second season, despite warnings from researchers who say it sends a dangerous message.
- The central problem of the show is not simply its depiction of suicide, experts say, but the way the main character is portrayed as having power after her death.
- Executive producer Selena Gomez has defended the show, saying she "wanted to make something that could hopefully help people."
The viral Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" is back for another season, despite warnings from a spate of researchers who say the crux of its plot sends a dangerous message to viewers.
The show's first 13 episodes trace the tragically short life of a young high school student named Hannah Baker who is assaulted, raped, and witness to a friend's rape. Viewers learn of this through a series of 13 tapes that Baker records before her death.
In the season finale, viewers watch Baker take her own life in slow, graphic, and horrifying detail - which directly contradicts guidelines from mental health experts about how to depict suicide in a way that doesn't encourage others to follow suit.
But that portrayal of suicide was not the producers' only dangerous mistake, experts say. A far bigger issue is the way Baker is given authority, power, and essentially a second life after her death.
"There was a kind of romanticization, and at the core of the story was this idea that you can kill yourself and be dead and yet not really be dead. Because of course [Baker] continues to be a character - she's in scenes and she's still there in many ways," Don Mordecai, Kaiser Permanente's national leader for mental health, told Business Insider.
That portrayal, Mordecai and other experts warn, could mislead viewers into believing that Baker's tale could apply to them. And the new season comes as suicide attempts among young people are rising.
Hannah Baker's second life
By way of the 13 tapes Baker records before she dies, her character lives on throughout the show.
She's present in nearly every episode, not only as the chief narrator but also as a main character recalling and reliving what happened to her. In contrast to the way Baker is presented as a victim when she is alive, she is shown as powerful and dominant after death.
As Baker's friend Clay Jensen listens to her tapes, he learns of the deep wrongdoings his peers committed and winds up forcing another student to admit what he did on tape.
It is a classic tale of revenge, but it's unrealistic and dangerous, researchers say.
By giving Baker's character power only in death, the show's creators portray suicide as romantic and vengeful. But the reality is the opposite: when we're gone, we have no self, no agency, and no power.
Last summer's disturbing trends
A study published Wednesday in the journal Pediatrics found that the rate of children and teens hospitalized for suicidal thoughts or attempts nearly tripled between 2008 and 2015.
The group with the highest rate of increase was teen girls.
Another more disturbing study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on the heels of the show's premiere found evidence that some viewers went online after watching and typed phrases like "how to kill yourself" in Google search.
Viewers also appeared to be searching for information about suicide prevention, but the trending searches with the sharpest uptick were about suicidal ideation, or thoughts about how to kill oneself.
Searches for the phrase "how to commit suicide," for example, were 26% higher than would have been expected, while the phrases "commit suicide" and "how to kill yourself" were 18% and 9% higher, respectively.
"The time for more debate is over," John Ayers, the study's lead author and an adjunct professor of behavioral science at San Diego State University, told Business Insider shortly after the paper was published. "The makers [of '13 Reasons Why'] must swiftly change their course of action, including removing the show and postponing a second season."
Ayers added this week, "Is a warning label enough when the show is actually pushing children to contemplate or commit suicide? I don't think so."
"This is akin to pushing someone down the stairs but warning the floors are slippery."
Singer Selena Gomez, the show's executive producer, has defended the show's portrayal of Baker's death, telling Good Morning America, "We wanted to do it in a way that was honest and we wanted to make something that could hopefully help people."
For the latest season of "13 Reasons Why," Gomez added a warning that plays before every episode to tell viewers about the sensitive content of the show. But that trailer may not be sufficient. The show's first season also contained a warning - though it was shorter and only played before certain episodes - and advised young people to watch with an adult.
"I'm sure many parents were there, sitting down watching and talking about it with their kids," Mordecai said. "But I'm sure many were not."
If you or someone you know is struggling with depression or has had thoughts of harming themselves or taking their own life, get help. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) provides free, 24/7, confidential support for people in distress, as well as best practices for professionals and resources to aid in prevention and crisis situations.