TW - suicide
You sit on your couch, ready to watch the newest season of 13 Reasons Why. You tell yourself you’ll only watch one episode, but eventually, you end up binging the whole season during an all-nighter. For some, this can have a major effect on their mental health. #Triggered talked with Belgian Applied Psychology lecturer (VIVES) Dr. Stijn Bijttebier about the physical effect that mental illness depicted in television can have on our brains.
Netflix's 13 Reasons Why is said to have influenced many teenagers' mental health.
If you’ve read any of our other articles, you may know that mental health-related shows or films can affect our own wellbeing. But what happens to our brains exactly when we see mental illness depicted on screen?
The first thing we noticed from our talk with dr. Stijn Bijttebier is the lack of research done about the subject. Dr. Bijttebier explains, “The only thing I can comment on is suicidal behaviour. It is not clear what is going on in people's brains at this moment. What is certain is that seeing suicide scenes has an impact on people who are already in a suicidal process and who are also more receptive to such stimuli.”
We also know that television viewing can affect children’s verbal abilities and their physical, cognitive (thinking and reasoning), and emotional development. But the effect that watching television has on the development of the brain structure has never been investigated.
Dr. Stijn Bijttebier's doctorate was about the neurobiology of suicidal behaviour.
So, we’re sure about two things:
Watching television has an impact on our brains.
The suicide rate increases when suicide is shown on television.
Let’s start with number 1.
1. Impact television on our brains
"Kids who get exposed to violent images on TV may tend to be more violent in real life."
Watching television, in general, can have an impact on us, especially for children. It can, for example, lead to more aggressive behaviour.
Dr. Bijttebier says, “Kids who get exposed to violent images on television, compared to non-violent images, can activate a different brain network, which, for example, includes our memory circuit. According to researchers, this may explain why children who watch violent scenes on television tend to be more violent in real life. However, this study only used a small sample group, so the results are only reliable to a limited extent.”
Take the whole Marvel franchise, which is filled with violence: look at Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool, who we see shooting three guys in the head with one bullet, or even ultimate good guy Captain America who basically throws a Hydra (Nazi) agent into the spinning engine of a flying plane (you can imagine the scene). By seeing so much violence at a young age, television can desensitise people and may trigger various neurobiological changes that can worsen any underlying aggressive tendencies.
If we focus more on binge-watching, there’s an even clearer change. A study by Netflix found that most of its members tend to binge-watch a season instead of watching it episode per episode. More than 60% of its users regularly watch between 2-6 episodes in one sitting. According to global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen almost 400.000 people watched all nine episodes of American sci-fi/horror show Stranger Things on its release date. That’s about 8-9 hours of watching in one go.
Binging a TV show can cause a detachment from the real world. You can start living in the world you see portrayed on television, which can influence your own behaviour. You may participate in more risky behaviour, like smoking, drinking, or doing drugs, like Hannah who felt like she had to do drugs to be cool after binging British coming of age drama Skins.
But most of all, television can actually change the way your brain works. When you binge-watch, you may experience overstimulation from the rapid pace of the series you watch. This can cause a shorter attention span, which affects your learning development.
2. The skyrocketing of the suicide rate
“Suicide isn't contagious like a virus, but media coverage of the matter can be that last persuasion for suicidal people.”
Another thing we know is that when a suicide is shown on television, the suicide rate increases, also known as suicide contagion.
Dr Bijttebier continues, “Research shows that the number of suicide (attempts) rises in the immediate period after a known suicide case or a character’s suicide in a television series. Suicidal feelings aren’t really contagious like a virus, but media coverage of the matter can be that last persuasion for suicidal people.”
In the month after the release of 13 Reasons Why, there was an almost 30% increase in suicides among Americans aged 10-17 years old, according to an American study. The suicide rate was bigger than any single month over the five-year period examined. While there’s a possibility that an unknown factor may have influenced the number as well, we can notice an obvious link.
The suicide rate in America spiked after the release of 13 Reasons Why: Netflix
But according to Dr. Bijttebier, television can also have a reversed effect: “There’s also a side note here, the so-called Papageno effect. Austrian professor Niederkrotenthaler and others found that reporting on suicide doesn’t only cause harm; a protective effect also appears to be possible. That can happen when the story focuses on the consideration of suicide, without being followed by an (attempted) suicide, or when the person uses constructive coping strategies and the suicide is prevented.”
Why no research? So, why don’t we know how watching mental health-related shows impacts our brains? The answer is simple, yet difficult. The brain is a strange being. We’re still trying to figure out what exactly happens in there, but every day we get a little bit closer to finding it out.
While we don’t know exactly what happens up there, we do know that there are certain dangers attached to watching shows or films like 13 Reasons Why, Skins, Joker, and so on. You can still continue to watch your favourite drama show but try to give yourself a breathing space between the episodes to stay grounded.
If you ever think about suicide or self-harm, and are in need of a conversation, then you can always contact the Suicide Hotline on the number 1813 or www.zelfmoord1813.be for Belgium. For international helplines, please click this link.
Text and image: © Femke Lippens