'13 Reasons Why' Linked To More Online Searches For Suicide Ideas: Study

The debate around the popular Netflix teen drama, ‘13 Reasons Why’ never seems to quell. After many people have expressed worry over the depiction of suicide in the show, a new study is claiming that internet searches about suicide increased substantially in the weeks following the release of the show.

The research letter published Monday in the JAMA Internal Medicine claimed that queries about suicide on the internet were 19 percent higher than the researchers had expected after the premiere of the show.

Read: History Of Suicide Attempts In Army Units Could Lead To More: Study

The data collected on suicide-related Google search trends in the U.S., specifically search terms containing the word “suicide,” from March 31, when the show was released, through April 18, reflected 900,000 to 1.5 million more searches on suicide. The statistics were compared to the search frequency of those phrases in a hypothetical scenario had the show not been released.

For the uninitiated, the show is based on a novel by Jay Asher and is about a teenage girl in high school who commits suicide. She leaves behind thirteen cassette tapes she had recorded before — one for each of those she thought were responsible for her death. The show was found questionable by some on the grounds that it glorified suicide as a response to trauma and discouraged teens from seeking professional help.

The research letter also reiterated this, with the lead researcher John W. Ayers, an associate research professor at the San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health telling Science Daily: “The show may have inspired many to act on their suicidal thoughts by seeking out information on how to commit suicide.”

The research letter showed that some popular search terms according to the trends studied were about suicide awareness; searches for the terms “suicide prevention” went up 23 percent and “suicide hotline number” increased by 21 percent. While these were definitely a good sign, what worried researchers the most, was that queries on “how to commit suicide” saw the highest increase (26 percent). The terms "commit suicide" and "how to kill yourself" also rose by 18 percent and nine percent respectively.

Ayers told Global News: “The data shows that '13 Reasons Why' isn’t fit for public health. Even though it’s causing somewhat of an increase in suicide awareness and people seeking information on how to prevent suicide, we saw an increase in searches on how to commit suicide, literally, how to have a painless suicide.”

The research only forms an association between the release of the show and the increase in suicide-related queries and does not prove that “13 Reasons Why” is actually responsible for this increase. The paper also does not link the show to actual suicides or attempts.

However, the authors of the research claimed they took several steps to make sure the results were streamlined. For example, they restricted the dates to April 18 to prevent any searches related to the death of former NFL player Aaron Hernandez which occurred the next day. They also eliminated any terms that were a reference to the movie 'Suicide Squad'.

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In the paper, the researchers said that the show, whose second season is currently being filmed, could have followed World Health Organization's media guidelines for preventing suicide, in order to reduce such associations with suicide ideation.

"We are calling on Netflix to remove the show and edit its content to align with World Health Organization standards before reposting," Ayers told Science Daily.