Fallout from Netflix series on teen suicide

Avossa links show, at-risk behavior

A fictional show on a young girl’s suicide, 13 Reasons Why, has raised consciousness — and sparked fears — nationwide. On Friday, the Palm Beach County schools superintendent warned parents to pay attention to signs, after reporting a spike in suicide threats and other self-harming events in recent weeks. Story,

Palm Beach County Superintendent Robert Avossa is linking a Netflix series about suicide to a recent spike in district students cutting themselves and threatening suicide.

He sent a letter to parents Friday voicing his concerns about the new series, “13 Reasons Why.” The show, based on a 2007 novel, explores the mystery of why a 17-year old girl climbs into a bathtub with a razor to kill herself.

”As a father of a teenager and tween, I am very concerned about a dangerous trend we have observed in our schools in recent days,” Avossa wrote.

There have been about a dozen incidents of at-risk behavior in the past week, district officials said, including selfmutilation, suicide threats and students examined for mental health issues under the state’s Baker Act. Several of those students have mentioned watching “13 Reasons Why,” Avossa said.

He also sent parents suicide awareness materials from the National Association of School Psychologists and said parents might want to discuss the issues if their child has seen the show.

“The advisory is for awareness purposes only and is in no way intended to be an indictment of the show or Netflix,” Avossa said.

The school psychologists’

group said in a statement, “We do not recommend that vulnerable youth, especially those who have any degree of suicidal [ideas], watch the series. Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the character and/or develop revenge fantasies.”

In Broward County, a spokeswoman said she is unaware of similar problems. But the show is creating concerns elsewhere in the country.

School officials in Winterset, Iowa, sent a warning letter to parents Friday about the show after a high school sophomore committed suicide.

The show’s creators defended their work, saying their frank depiction needs to be “unflinching and raw.”

“Many people are accusing the show of glamorizing suicide and I feel strongly — and I think everyone who made the show — feels very strongly that we did the exact opposite,” said writer Brian Yorkey, who won a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize for the musical “Next to Normal,” which grappled with mental illness. “What we did was portray suicide and we portrayed it as very ugly and very damaging.”

Netflix released all 13 hours of the series at once on March 31, worrying suicide prevention specialists that teens might bingewatch the series without a chance to fully absorb the issues and ask questions. They also say they wish the show would flash the National Suicide Prevention hotline.

Netflix and the show’s creators say several mental health professionals were consulted and they offer a 30- minute program called “Beyond the Reasons” that delves deeper into the topics portrayed, as well as a site with links to resources.

The show is rated TVMA, which means is may be unsuitable for children under 17.

Avossa