Essay on The Medias Influence on Teenage Suicide

The Medias Influence on Teenage Suicide Fiction: Only â€Å"bad† kids who have the wrong friends and bad lives commit suicide. Fact: Kids who have the right friends and a bright future in front of them commit suicide. Fiction: Music, movies, and other forms of media do not influence teenagers in any way, shape, or form. Fact: Music, movies, and other forms of media are influencing teenagers to commit suicide. Teenage suicide is on the rise at an alarming rate. While depression and other social pressures play a significant role in suicide among teenagers, there is evidence showing that music, movies, and other ways the media portrays suicide as glamorous and noble is having a major influence on teenagers considering suicide.†¦show more content†¦These causes can vary from depression to drugs to school and family pressures. According to Francine Klagsburn in her book, Too Young to Die, â€Å"No single cause can explain all suicides. Suicide is such a complex matter that it involves every aspect of life.† (121) Anthropologist Edward Westermark was of the same thinking and found there are many motives including disappointed love or jealousy, illness, death of a loved one, shame, pride, anger and revenge (Choron 10). A 1986 government survey attempted to answer the question, â€Å"Is there something different [today] about the sense of despair, the sense of hopelessnessâ € ¦that youngsters feel suicide is a reasonable solution?† (Klagburn, 12) The survey asked experts in suicide research and prevention to list the characteristics of youth at risk of committing suicide. â€Å"Half of the respondents cited family conflicts, more than one-third mentioned physical or sexual abuse, and 17 percent named alcohol or drug abuse† (Worsnop 372). David C. Clark, director of Chicago’s Center for Suicide Research and Prevention, was also quoted, citing some of the suicide triggers of an at risk teen: In the vast majority of cases, they say, there is an underlying mental illness that is responsible for suicide. Clark estimates that about 25 percent of youth suicides are due to depression, 25 percent to alcohol or drug abuse and about 40 percent fall into the category of conduct disorder, which involves a longShow MoreRelatedMedia s Effect On Teens986 Words   |  4 PagesCenters for disease control and prevention (CDC), the suicide rate is currently the third largest leading causes of death among teenagers, and the numbers are growing day by day. Media’s contribution to this upward trend of suicide may be debatable, but we can’t deny the influence of television commercials on teens. Through false advertisements, unrealistic standard of beauty, and social norms, Media is fueling a national epidemic of teen suicide. Despite its downside, Mass Media is widely consideredRead MoreIdealized Body and Social Media964 Words   |  4 Pageshalf of the advertisements using beauty as an appeal to sell their products(Teen Health and the Media), the pressures to be perfect are causing women to become dissatisfied with their looks, driving them to turn to unhealthy measures. The average teenage girl gets a significantly greater amount of media time each day compared to the amount of time they spend with their parents, this is usually around 180 minutes of media per ten minutes spent with their parents (Heubeck). With so much time spent onRead MoreYouth Suicide in Australia: A Report Essay755 Words   |  4 Pageshas done enough to prevent youth suicide by showing the background and social significance of the issue. Furthermore, the participants involved and their controversial opinions related to the issue will be analyzed in this report as well. 2. 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Suicide by Mass Murder: Masculinity, Aggrieved Entitlement, and Rampage School Shootings by Rachel Kalish and Michael Kimmel investigates three recent acts of school shootings ending in suicide in an attemptRead MoreEssay on Goth: A Satirical Subculture1126 Words   |  5 Pagessociety attitude. As time passed, this attitude transformed into more of a â€Å"no more blind acceptance of societal values† instead of rejection for its own sake. The first use of the term Gothic is often up for debate, and many would cite the medias description of the music of the Doors or Diamond Dogs by David Bowie. However, the Gothic community, by and large, accepts that the term originally described the music of Siouxie and the Banshees or Joy Division by their manager. The first dateableRead MoreHow The Media Influences An Individual1817 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"How the Media Influences an Individuals’ Sense of Self†   Ã¢â‚¬Å"Mirror,  mirror on the  wall who s the fairest of them all† (Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  1937). Most people are familiar  with this quote from  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,  which illustrates simply an issue facing women today. Much like the movie -the evil queen sees Snow White in the mirror- people never see themselves in the mirror;  people project what they want to  be  and critique every inch of themselves.  The American culture hasRead MoreMusic Preferences957 Words   |  4 PagesWhat physiological, psychological and social factors influence our  musical preferences? Music refers to the art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion; however individuals differ in their preference of music. 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