Parents should be aware as their teens probably are.
My 13-year old daughter and all her friends have seen this, my attempts to restrict it notwithstanding. They talk about it frequently on chats. Parents and teachers have no idea how massive a cultural bomb this has become. And it indeed is hollow and soulless, and will likely increase drug use and suicide.
I just got an email from the daughter’s school about this:
______ ISD takes pride in putting student’s needs and their well-being as a high priority. It has been brought to our attention that there is a new Netflix series out that many teenagers are watching that is concerning. The Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, debuted on March 31, 2017 and is trending nationally as well as in our school community. The series is rated MA – (Mature Audience) and is believe by some counseling and educational experts to glorify suicide.
It is a 13-hour series depicting themes of bullying, sexual assault, drug use and other social issues which leads to the main character’s death by suicide. While the show has become very popular, it has also generated a lot of discussion about the impact the series may have on our youth. Mental health experts are concerned that the show does not address alternatives to suicide when teens are dealing with stressful situations.
Because of the mature nature of this content and topic, we want parents to be aware of the widespread effect the program has had on day-to-day conversations teens and youth are having with one another. These very important topics have become more prevalent in our teens’ lives, and are present on social media regularly.
As recommendations:
• We encourage you to obtain information about the series.
• If your teenager is watching the series, take time to have conversations about the content and possibly watch the series together.
• Review talking points that have been created specifically for this series by mental health experts from Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE) and the JED Foundation; which can be found at: www.jedfoundation.org/13-reasons-why-talking-points/.
• If you feel that your child needs support in this area, please reach out to your campus counselor or social workers who are available to meet with your children.