Philip Bradley
philipb@isb.ac.th
Recently, a series on Netflix has gained a lot of attention among teens and subsequently parents, educators, and mental health professionals. Based on a popular Young Adult fiction novel by Jay Asher, the series “13 Reasons Why” tells the story of a high school teenage girl who commits suicide and leaves 13 recordings detailing the role people played in her decision. The themes are mature and there are scenes and scenarios that can be disturbing.
This show has been a hit for Netflix, particularly among teens, and prompted discussion on how suicide and teenage life, in general, are portrayed. Ultimately, a message of helping those who are hurting is reached, but other aspects take center stage on the show, particularly as it flashes back regularly to when the girl was alive.
While not all students have watched this show, it is widespread enough to be something they are talking about. For this reason, we wanted to be sure parents are aware that it may contain some confusing message for teens, particularly if they feel distressed or know someone who does. If your child has seen this show, it may be an opportunity for you to talk about these issues with them.
In cases like these we don’t want to elevate anxiety. Most of the time, students are fine and can separate media messages from their own lives. Sometimes, however, students may internalize undesirable messages unless we are helping them through with counter-messages.
Cindy Warner-Dobrowski, our Director of Student Services, has put together a resource for parents adapted from National Association of School Psychologists. (2017) recent paper, 13 Reasons Why Netflix series: Considerations for educators [handout]. This resource shares the current thinking from mental health professionals about how best to talk about these difficult issues with teens.
Please do not hesitate to contact a counselor or school administrator if you have any concerns.
Philip Bradley