‘ 13 REASONS WHY COMMUNICATES TO YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE STRUGGLING THAT SUICIDE CAN BE A WAY TO MAKE PEOPLE FEEL BAD FOR THE WAY THEY’ VE TREATED THEM AND IT WILL PROVIDE SOME SATISFACTION.’

— Dr Claire Kelly, youth programs manager at Mental First Aid Australia

THERE’ S no hiding the storyline of 13 Reasons Why. A global hit, particularly among teenagers, the TV drama series graphically presents US schoolgirl Hannah Baker in the bathtub as she starts to slit her wrists. The plot centres on the 13 cassette tapes she leaves behind for the people she blames for her death.

The show, first broadcast by Netflix in March this year, documents what happened to her as well as the impact of the tapes on those she accuses of mistreating her.

It is confronting, running through those themes that often haunt adolescence: bullying, loneliness

, angst, depression, sexual abuse, death.

My young cousin and her friends watch it. They talk about it, even joke about it, mentioning how they plan to make their own mock tapes, what they would say and who they would send them to.

But along with its huge popularity, there are concerns. Critics accuse its makers of glamorising suicide in a way that is utterly absent from its grim and devastating reality, peddling a dangerous revenge fantasy to its audience.

For vulnerable young people whose lives in the real world may be falling apart, the fear among mental health professionals is that

Hannah’ s fictional plight will trigger copycat deaths. Whether that has already happened is unclear, but an article in JAMA’ s Internal Medicine in October claimed Google fielded an extra 1.5 million suicide-related searches in the 19 days after the show’ s release— phrases such as“ how to commit suicide”,“ commit suicide” and“ how to kill yourself”. 1

This figure represented a 19 % increase on these search numbers predicted by researchers if the show had not been broadcast.

Dr Claire Kelly, youth programs manager at Mental First Aid Australia, is one of the critics warning that the show’ s capacity

to cause harm is very real. She says she has come across young people talking about making their own tapes as a“ joke”.

“[ But ] for others who are vulnerable, it’ s anything but a joke. It’ s sometimes the only way a young person can communicate how they’ re feeling,” she says.

“ 13 Reasons Why communicates to young people who are struggling that suicide can be a way to make people feel bad for the way they’ ve treated them and it will provide some satisfaction.

“ I’ ve had conversations with young people who have been in distress saying,‘ I can’ t wait to cont’ d next page