The Road to Hell with Best Intentions: Reporting on Teen Suicide in the Media

The question of "should teen suicide be reported in the media?" is a difficult one to answer in a definitive black and white sense. The conversation around the increasing number of people between the age of 15 and 24 taking their own lives is one worth having, and the need to find meaning in such a devastating tragedy is far from unreasonable. I can hardly blame a person who has lost their child or loved one for wanting to do everything in their power to prevent it from happening to others, and the intent of journalists reporting on the subject arguably comes from the same moral ground but in many cases - despite best intentions - reporting on the subject has been shown to cause more harm than good. These tragedies should not be ignored and as a society we need to have an open discussion about the underlying causes, but with its tendency to focus on the result rather than the issue itself I believe media is not the ideal forum or resource for reducing the rate of teen suicide.

Suicide contagion has been well documented within the scientific community (Source). In one example, sensational media coverage of suicide by jumping in front of a subway car was correlated with increased numbers of people attempting and succeeding in taking their own lives in a similar fashion (Source), but when media outlets began to follow the guidelines put forth to promote sensitivity towards suicide reporting, instances of suicide by subway dropped by 75% (Source). Another example of the impact poor reporting practices around suicide can have was documented in Detroit in the 1970s when rates of suicide decreased as a local paper went on strike, and then spiked again when publication resumed (Source). This suggests that following guidelines set by organizations like the Canadian Psychiatric Society (Source) can reduce the negative impact these stories have, yet often these guidelines are ignored by media outlets in an attempt to craft a compelling emotional piece that focuses on an individual story, unintentionally glorifying their death in an attempt to create a respectful memorial. Two examples of this are the cases of Amanda Todd and east coast hip hop artist Courtney "Capital STEEZ" Dewar. 

Both Todd and Dewar took their own lives at a young age for wildly different reasons; one a victim of vicious abuse and online blackmail (Source), the other a troubled young artist who struggled with his cultural identity and lack of success in the industry despite great talent (Source). The similarities between their stories began after their deaths. Todd was vocal about the torment she was undergoing up until her suicide, yet it was only afterwards that an investigation was launched in regards to her accusations of online blackmail and her resulting suicide, the search for justice on her behalf came far too late (Source). The similarity to Dewar is his rise in popularity as an artist post-mortem, it was only after his death that his first album "AmeriKKKan Korruption" began to take off (Source) and he expressed frustration while he was alive at its lack of popularity. While situationally these cases are very different, both ended in a sort of martyrdom. Sadly the significant impact Todd and Dewar wished to have - Dewar with his meaningful and insightful lyricism, and Todd with her pleas to end online abuse - came only after it was too late to help them. While the specific reasons behind any teen suicide can vary wildly, one commonality that is often present is a sense of being powerless to change whatever life situation is leading them towards suicide (Crook, Out of Darkness, 2003). When reading about cases like Todd or Dewar, teens feeling that sense of hopelessness may find solace in the idea that their death could help others in a similar situation and decide to end their own lives in an attempt to bring light to their situation. Unfortunately this is not entirely far-fetched, our culture is rampant with examples of this. From prolific artists and creators like Edgar Allen Poe and Vincent Van Gogh (Source) to teen members of the LGBT community whose suicides spurred campaigns like "It Gets Better" (Source), all of whom's voices weren't truly heard until after their death, and by reporting about contemporary instances of this the media can give youth the impression that it is both a legitimate way to create social change and a solution to end their suffering.

Teen depression and thoughts of suicide are far from uncommon; in a survey of 15000 Canadian youth a whopping 16% had seriously considered suicide, with almost half of them making a serious attempt at it (Source). To put it in another light, for every successful teen suicide in the United States nearly 400 are attempted (Source). The reasons behind any suicide will always vary depending on the individual, so it is nearly impossible to determine what could become the final straw for someone contemplating ending their own life. However what can be empirically demonstrated is the negative impact unregulated reporting can have on youth with suicidal thoughts, which is why conversation in the media should be centered around the support available, not individual stories. Respectful celebration of ones life has its place, but should be done in a more controlled personal situation for the benefit of the bereaved, not as a public agenda for social change. Journalists are simply not currently equipped to handle the intrinsic complexity of teen suicide, and while articles of individual stories can spur discussion and potentially convince someone to seek help, the risks of suicide contagion are great enough that journalists should be inclined to leave the work of awareness and prevention to professionals who have the knowledge and resources to truly have a positive impact on the lives of teens coping with depression.

REFERENCES 

Associated Press. (2012, October 12). Canadian teen found dead weeks after posting wrenching YouTube video detailing bullying. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/10/12/canadian-teen-found-dead-weeks-after-posting-wrenching-youtube-video-detailing/

Canadian Children's Rights Council (n.d.). Youth Suicide in Canada Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://canadiancrc.com/Youth_Suicide_in_Canada.aspx

Canadian Children's Rights Council. (1993). Reflections on Youth Suicide. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://canadiancrc.com/PDFs/CMHA_mh_pamphlet_29.pdf

Canadian Psychiatric Association. (n.d.). Media guidelines for suicide reporting-quick reference. Retrieved November 23, 2015, from http://www.cpa-apc.org/browse/documents/341

Center for Disease Control. (1994, April 22). Suicide Contagion and the Reporting of Suicide: Recommendations from a National Workshop. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00031539.htm

Crook, M. (2003). Out of the Darkness: Teens Talk About Suicide. Vancouver: Arsenal Pulp Press.

CTV News. (2012, October 12).  RCMP launch investigation into death of bullied B.C. teen. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/rcmp-launch-investigation-into-death-of-bullied-b-c-teen-1.993029

Grant, A. (2010, February 19). Top 10 People Who Became Famous After Death. Retrieved November 26, 2015, from http://www.toptenz.net/top-10-people-who-became-famous-after-death.php

Kunrath, S., Baumert, J., & Ladwig, K. (2010). Increasing railway suicide acts after media coverage of a fatal railway accident? An ecological study of 747 suicidal acts. Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health, 65(9), 825-828. Retrieved November 25, 2015 from http://www.jstor.org.ezproxy.kwantlen.ca:2080/stable/23050962

Ladurantaye, S. (2011, December 10). How the taboo against reporting on suicide met its end. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/health-and-fitness/health/conditions/how-the-taboo-against-reporting-on-suicide-met-its-end/article4181695/?page=all

Rosenberg, E. (2013, December 1). Capital STEEZ: King Capital. The Fader. Retrieved November 28, 2015, from http://www.thefader.com/2013/11/26/capital-steez-king-capital