Bhavya Dixit
Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Bourdain, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Chester Bennington are names we are all familiar with due to different as well as similar reasons. All of these are celebrities who are known to have committed suicide and their stories stirred a lot of media coverage. However, a number of times this coverage can take forms of sensationalizing and glorifying suicides. For instance, in 1774, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Man Werther, a novel where the hero commits suicide due to a failed love affair, was banned in many European locations. It was perceived as responsible for cluster suicides in Italy, Leipzig, and Copenhagen (Stack, 2003). Werther effect also known as Copycat Suicide is a term given to such suicide contagions. This blog aims to view how impactful celebrity suicides and media’s coverage of the same are, in inducing imitative suicides.
Scrutinizing on two different cases of celebrity suicides will give a better insight into what goes behind these contagions. When Robin Williams passed away, the media-generated explicit reports about how he died. Washington Post reported, “Robin Williams’s death shows the power of depression and the impulsiveness of suicide” and the New York Times reported with the headline “Robin Williams Died by Hanging, Official Says” (Fink, 2018). Such information could have been handled with care as it marks fragile territory. Sensitive information such as the method, the location and the instrument used should be avoided during public address. There was an excess of approximately 1,841 suicides in the United States in the four months after his death as opposed to what would be expected for that time period based on forecasts (Fink, 2018).
On the other hand is a case, involving Kurt Cobain’s suicide can be viewed. He was the lead singer of a rock band Nirvana, who died in 1994. His death followed the suicide reporting protocol, consequently, the impact of his death on suicide rates was minimal. Available evidence hints at how censoring the details of death, as well as incessant messages regarding suicide prevention throughout reporting, may have been pivotal in preventing subsequent suicides (Fink, 2018).
According to Antonia Murphy, the author of Out of this World young people, are prone to get influenced by celebrity suicides. They get attracted by their lifestyle of living on the edge and get manipulated (Murphy, 2017). A large copycat effect was observed when Marilyn Monroe committed suicide. During the month of her suicide, there was an increase of 12% (Stack, 2003).
In conclusion, the evidence for copycat suicides is scanty and the associations are drawn between the presence of a suicide story and an increase in the social suicide rate. It remains unknown, to what extent the people committing suicide are aware of the suicide story (Stack, 2003). Nevertheless, there are studies that show that these short-term triggers can increase suicides (Jeong, 2012). A study was conducted to determine the association between celebrity suicides and copycat suicides. Five celebrity suicides took place during the study period. The results established a link with the increase in Emergency Department (ED) visits and celebrity suicides (Jeong, 2012).
Marilyn Monroe, Anthony Bourdain, Kurt Cobain, Amy Winehouse, Robin Williams, Chester Bennington are names we are all familiar with due to different as well as similar reasons. All of these are celebrities who are known to have committed suicide and their stories stirred a lot of media coverage. However, a number of times this coverage can take forms of sensationalizing and glorifying suicides. For instance, in 1774, Goethe’s The Sorrows of Young Man Werther, a novel where the hero commits suicide due to a failed love affair, was banned in many European locations. It was perceived as responsible for cluster suicides in Italy, Leipzig, and Copenhagen (Stack, 2003). Werther effect also known as Copycat Suicide is a term given to such suicide contagions. This blog aims to view how impactful celebrity suicides and media’s coverage of the same are, in inducing imitative suicides.
Scrutinizing on two different cases of celebrity suicides will give a better insight into what goes behind these contagions. When Robin Williams passed away, the media-generated explicit reports about how he died. Washington Post reported, “Robin Williams’s death shows the power of depression and the impulsiveness of suicide” and the New York Times reported with the headline “Robin Williams Died by Hanging, Official Says” (Fink, 2018). Such information could have been handled with care as it marks fragile territory. Sensitive information such as the method, the location and the instrument used should be avoided during public address. There was an excess of approximately 1,841 suicides in the United States in the four months after his death as opposed to what would be expected for that time period based on forecasts (Fink, 2018).
On the other hand is a case, involving Kurt Cobain’s suicide can be viewed. He was the lead singer of a rock band Nirvana, who died in 1994. His death followed the suicide reporting protocol, consequently, the impact of his death on suicide rates was minimal. Available evidence hints at how censoring the details of death, as well as incessant messages regarding suicide prevention throughout reporting, may have been pivotal in preventing subsequent suicides (Fink, 2018).
According to Antonia Murphy, the author of Out of this World young people, are prone to get influenced by celebrity suicides. They get attracted by their lifestyle of living on the edge and get manipulated (Murphy, 2017). A large copycat effect was observed when Marilyn Monroe committed suicide. During the month of her suicide, there was an increase of 12% (Stack, 2003).
In conclusion, the evidence for copycat suicides is scanty and the associations are drawn between the presence of a suicide story and an increase in the social suicide rate. It remains unknown, to what extent the people committing suicide are aware of the suicide story (Stack, 2003). Nevertheless, there are studies that show that these short-term triggers can increase suicides (Jeong, 2012). A study was conducted to determine the association between celebrity suicides and copycat suicides. Five celebrity suicides took place during the study period. The results established a link with the increase in Emergency Department (ED) visits and celebrity suicides (Jeong, 2012).
Therefore, it is safer to presume that the Werther effect does indeed play a significant role instead of denying it, even if there is insufficient evidence. The acknowledgment has led to several positive changes with the way media addresses celebrity suicides. Celebrity suicide effects have also led to the World Health Organization establishing media guidelines for reporting a high profile celebrity death, including sensitivity and non-sensationalism in the reporting of the means of suicide, the precipitating factors, and the risk factors for suicide and clear consistent messages about suicide prevention as well as help-seeking during reporting (WHO, 2008). A phenomenon of interest to view the same is known as the Papageno Effect which deals with the coverage of positive coping in dreadful circumstances, as covered in media reports about suicidal ideation (Niederkrotenthaler, 2010). The fact that the guidelines were not followed during Robin Williams’ case shows how adverse the effects can be. If the association between celebrity suicides, media coverage and increasing suicide rates is entirely disregarded it will definitely lead to more harm than good.
REFERENCES:
REFERENCES:
- Stack S. Media Coverage as a Risk Factor in Suicide, Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health 2003, pp - 238-240.
- Fink, D. S., Santaella-Tenorio, J., & Keyes, K. M. (2018). Increase in suicides the months after the death of Robin Williams in the US. PloS one, 13(2), e0191405. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0191405
- Murphy, A. (2017). Out of This World: Suicide Examined. Karnac Books.
- Jeong, J., Shin, S.D., Kim, H. et al. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol (2012) 47: 957. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-011-0403-7
- World Health Organisation. Preventing Suicide. A Resource for Media Professionals. http://wwwwhoint/mental_health/prevention/suicide/resource_mediapdf 2008.
- Niederkrotenthaler, T., Voracek, M., Herberth, A., Till, B., Strauss, M., Etzersdorfer, E., . . . Sonneck, G. (2010). Role of media reports in completed and prevented suicide: Werther v. Papageno effects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 197(3), 234-243. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.109.074633
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