Teens say Netflix's '13 Reasons' reflects their world. Experts say the picture is incomplete.
Last month when Kristin Kowalke's son told her he was watching a new Netflix series, the Pewaukee mother of three decided to view the show herself. She was immediately hooked on "13 Reasons Why," the controversial drama-mystery about a teenager who kills herself after creating tape recordings for the people who she says drove her to take her life.
Jordyn Kowalke, a senior at Pewaukee High School, re-watched many of the episodes with his mother and gamely fielded her questions. Were his classmates as mean to each other as the students depicted in the show? Are high school parties today really that crazy?
A number of Wisconsin school districts recently sent parents warnings about the hit series, which has been renewed for a second season. While the show has provided a platform for families like the Kowalkes to discuss important issues, many school-support staff and mental health clinicians are alarmed that it glamorizes suicide and portrays adults as inept, perpetuating a myth that troubled young people have nowhere to turn.
Their biggest concern is that vulnerable young viewers may over-identify with the lead character, Hannah Baker.
"It's worrisome to be showing some of the key things that research says you do not do with suicide," said Katherine Ballbach, a school psychologist in the Racine Unified School District. "You don't have memorials. You don't continue to expose someone to the graphic details of someone's suicide. This show alone could be a contagion for youth at risk of suicide."
The fear is particularly acute in Racine County, which has seen a spike in children completing suicide in recent years, according to school district officials.
Rates of youth suicide have also increased in Milwaukee County; it's been the cause of death for six children this year alone. Records from the Milwaukee County medical examiner show that over the past decade, only about three children per year have died by suicide.
More controversial
The novel upon which "13 Reasons" is based — written by Jay Asher and published in 2007 — hasn't generated the same amount of controversy as the Netflix series. Brian Wegener, an English teacher at East Troy High School, has taught the novel in his literature class but hasn't worried that it would trigger students to take any dangerous actions in real life.
"The backlash seems much more intense than any objections I remember from the novel's first days," Wegener said. "I'm not sure if that is a result of TV's wider influence or a result of differences in the two portrayals (of the story)."
One important difference is the portrayal of the suicide. The book says Hannah swallowed "a handful of pills." Netflix shows close-ups of her slitting her wrists in a bathtub. Some experts worried the scene made suicide look almost serene, instead of painful.
RELATED: 8-year-old's suicide: Video shows incident in bathroom
RELATED: Why '13 Reasons' is more controversial than other fictional depictions of suicide
RELATED: Netflix adds warning to teen suicide series '13 Reasons Why'
Still, millions of adolescent and teenage viewers identify with the show, and fans say it raises awareness of serious subjects such as sexual assault, bullying and the drama of youth relationships. But many parents didn't realize that those issues are depicted in more graphic detail in "13 Reasons" than they were in most of the movies and TV shows they watched as young people.
Sam Goral, an East Troy senior in Wegener's class, said the series accurately depicts today's high school environment.
"With all of the technology now it just becomes easier to spread rumors, pictures and talk to people," he said. "Adults don’t understand how things have changed since they were in high school. Everything now is public, everyone knows everything about anyone, and this show depicts this more than any other show or book."
Rates rising
Dovetailing with the series' popularity is the sobering fact that nationwide rates of youth suicide and rates of children contemplating suicide have steadily increased over the past few decades. A new study shows the percentage of kids and teenagers hospitalized for expressing suicidal thoughts has more than doubled since 2008, with the largest uptick among teen girls.
Gregory Plemmons, the lead author of the study, is an associate professor of hospital pediatrics at Nashville, Tenn.'s Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt University. He said that back in 2008 and 2009, he'd routinely see two or three kids waiting in the emergency room for placement because of suicidal thoughts or serious self-harm.
Recently, he said, he counted 22 children in the ER waiting for such placement.
Plemmons said Children's Hospital of Wisconsin did not have an increase in hospitalizations for suicidal youth. However, that could be because other medical centers, such as Rogers Memorial Hospital and Aurora Health Care's behavioral health clinics, are the first point of contact for such patients.
Himanshu Agrawal, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Children's Hospital, said "13 Reasons" does some things well, such as accurately portraying the narrow line many girls today walk between being considered attractive or promiscuous, the harsh realities of sexual assault, the fake sense of loyalty exhibited between many boys and the subtle ways that teens can harm others by being bystanders.
But Agrawal and other counselors criticized the series for not portraying mental illness in the main character. In real life, the vast majority of people who attempt or complete suicide have serious depression and/or other mental illnesses.
"I do not want to minimize the impact of bullying, but it's usually just one risk factor," Agrawal said.
As all of these concerns bubbled up to school district administrators, notes and automated phone calls reached parents in recent weeks in many suburban Milwaukee districts.
"It seemed to bubble up really quickly," said Ted Noll, Cedarburg School District's director of pupil services. "But now that most districts have put out letters, we're hoping the collective understanding of all of this will grow."
Just in time for season two.
From adults to kids: Reactions to '13 Reasons'
Madeline Eisen, public health specialist, Greendale
"None of the characters successfully sought help and got it. If the creators of the show really wanted to make a difference for kids who are suffering in real life, they would have given them an example of a character surviving. I realize this does not make for a super sexy plot line, but that is what it needed."
Stephanie Hullum, middle school social worker, Racine
"As an adult, I felt it was intriguing and suspenseful and raw. I appreciated the rawness. I appreciated it was getting issues out there. But as a professional, I'm considering my audience and my students. The adult maturity of the rape scene and suicide scene is a lot for a middle schooler. There was no discussion in the series that the female was suffering from mental illness, and that over-simplified her suicide as a product of bullying. I am fearful this glorified the option of suicide for youth to consider if they're having negative feelings or are seeking revenge on others."
Chase Hayes, senior, East Troy High School
"I don't like the series because it's not like the book. I also don't think Hannah's death should have been shown like (it was) in the series."
Himanshu Agrawal, child psychiatrist, Children's Hospital of Wisconsin
"The show starts off with a shot of the (dead) girl's locker, covered with pictures and flowers and notes. Right there, that worries me. The show starts off with glamorizing the scene. A troubled teenager might think, 'They're finally looking at me like I exist.' "
Erin Richards can be reached at (414) 224-2705 or erin.richards@jrn.com or @emrichards on Twitter.