Suicide Watch by Ashlyn Goodman

“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 47,173 Americans killed
themselves during 2017, which is higher in both number and percentage of the population than at
any time since the CDC's earliest published statistics in 1950.”(Brooks) It is hard to see the
progress of suicide awareness because even though we all are aware, hardly enough people are
taking it seriously. More accessible resources, implementing awareness at a young age, or
creating and maintaining a sense of community could help us start to see progress in battling
suicide.
If you were to compare the stigma around suicide from today to the 1920’s, you wouldn’t see
much difference in the attitudes behind them; we may have reached a point where it is more
socially acceptable to discuss suicide, but we have not yet gotten to where the majority takes it
seriously. The term suicide prevention can be defined as actions taken to prevent suicide, but to
many suicide prevention is seen as a lost cause or a waste of time and effort because they can’t
see any progress being made. In order to see progress being made, we need to evaluate similar
situations and compare the effectiveness of the efforts that were made in hopes of prevention.
One reason suicide prevention may not be taken seriously is ego and pride, and as Arthur Brooks
says, “Despite the hard work of a few government agencies and nonprofit groups, we are largely
silent on this subject as a nation; it isn't something we discuss in polite society. It is shrouded in
shame and fear.”(Brooks)
Writer Arthur Brooks of The Washington Post claims that it is possible to control the
general public’s attitude towards suicide, in the same way that we’ve changed the standard
around drinking and driving; undoing the desensitization that social media has subjected us to
could be the answer to mimicking the results from groups like Mothers Against Drunk Driving
(MADD) . According to Brooks,“Drunken[sic] driving went from something people chuckled at
to something people found deplorable. The result? Traffic deaths have fallen by about one-third
since the early 1970s, despite a massive increase in the number of drivers.”(Brooks), just as Julie
Philips claims a reason behind the delay, “which is a growing social acceptance of Suicide.”
In attempt to solve a problem, one must first identify its cause; in the case of suicide, it is
difficult to narrow the cause down to one reason. One thing that is unique about suicide in
compairison to other social issues, though, is it’s the only social issue that is almost solely caused
by other social issues. Factors like alcohol, drugs, depression, anxiety and many others
contribute to suicide and all have one thing in common; they’re all amplified and commended by
the internet and, more specifically, social media.
“At a time of life when emotions are particularly volatile, adolescents are fed a constant
stream of idealized images of others’ lives coupled with sometimes vitriolic and highly personal
messaging.”(Apodaca) Mother and writer Patrice Apodaca explains, shifting the blame to peer
interaction on social medias like Instagram or Snapchat. When talking about social media
impacting suicide rates, it is hard not to focus on the statistic representing the rate with women.
Arthur Brooks states that the suicide rate for women 15-24 have “seen the largest percentage
increase ‘nearly double’ in suicide deaths since 2000.” (Brooks) It is particularly difficult for
teenage girls because of how negative they can be to each other on social media, and because of
the constant comparisons to celebrities and beauty standards; Patrice Apodaca also takes the time
to acknowledge that “far too many kids today are feeling extreme levels of stress and anxiety
because of exaggerated expectations — by their parents, their schools, their peers, and perhaps
mostly crucially, by themselves — of accomplishment in academics, sports and other
activities.”(Apodaca)
To come to a solution and be certain we’ll see progress, we need to think and act together as a
community. Generally, humans tend to be selfish and we are aware of that; that selfishness turns
into selflessness when something affecting us or our loved ones directly is introduced into the
equation. “A new poll, released early this month by the American Foundation for Suicide
Prevention (AFSP), found that most US adults (93 percent) would do something if someone
close to them was thinking about suicide. More than 80 percent said they disagreed with the idea
that if someone wants to die by suicide, there is nothing anyone can do about it.”concludes
Jessica Mendoza With this study we can see that even in regards to strangers humans care about
those contemplating suicide.
Suicide prevention is becoming stagnant due to increasing factors with the internet, and in
order to prevent that we need to increase awareness and education while keeping a sense of
community for eachother to rely on. After identifying the causing factor(s), (which are social
media, personal ego, and impractical expectations in this instance) it is easier to identify the
solution. With the aid of empathy, we can slowly unlearn our selfish habits and mindsets.

Annotated Bibliography
Apodaca, Patrice. "Social Media and Exaggerated Expectations Play a Role in Rising.." Los
Angeles Times (Online), 09 Apr 2018. SIRS Issues Researcher,
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2265393103?
accountid=152046.
This article was created to reflect on the rising suicide rates among teens and certain causes for it
such as social media. The author, Patrice Apodaca, is a parent and a writer for the Los
Angeles Times, who has taken notice of the major consequences of our technology.
Apodaca also pointed the finger at overbearing parental expectations that are amplified
by social media and its expectations on its own.
“At a time of life when emotions are particularly volatile, adolescents are fed a constant stream
of idealized images of others’ lives coupled with sometimes vitriolic and highly personal
messaging.”

"Depression rates among our youth have reached alarming levels. The National Institute of
Mental Health reports that an estimated 3.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United
States — that’s 12.8% of that age group — have had at least one major depressive episode "
Brooks, Arthur C. "Suicide is Not Someone Else's Problem." Washington Post, 26 Jan 2020.
SIRS Issues Researcher,
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2345956902?
accountid=152046.
In order to assess the reasoning behind the recent spike, an author from the Washington Post
dove into all of the top demographics that we’ve seen the rate of suicide increase for recently.
The main groups of people that are at most risk of attempting suicide are Women and girls ages
15-24, men 45-64, and men that are 75 and older. Arthur Brooks concludes his article by
explaining how we’ve taken measures that have had positive effects in the past, and that we need
to focus on taking those measures again and bringing awareness.
“According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 47,173 Americans killed
themselves during 2017, which is higher in both number and percentage of the population than at
any time since the CDC's earliest published statistics in 1950.”

“ The first is women and girls between the ages of 15 and 24, who have seen the largest
percentage increase " nearly double " in suicide deaths since 2000.”

“ To turn the tide on this crisis, in addition to better identification and treatment of suicidality,
we urgently need to raise public awareness and shift the direction of public opinion on suicide in
the United States. This is far from impossible; we've done it before in the past few decades in
other cases, such as traffic fatalities.”
“Julie Phillips, a sociologist at Rutgers University who has written extensively about
middle-age suicide, identifies yet another factor, which is a growing social acceptance of
Suicide”
“Drunken driving went from something people chuckled at to something people found
deplorable. The result? Traffic deaths have fallen by about one-third since the early 1970s,
despite a massive increase in the number of drivers.”
“Despite the hard work of a few government agencies and nonprofit groups, we are largely silent
on this subject as a nation; it isn't something we discuss in polite society. It is shrouded in shame
and fear.”
Mendoza, Jessica. "Suicide Prevention: Where is there Progress?" Christian Science Monitor, 10
Sep 2015. SIRS Issues Researcher,
https://explore.proquest.com/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2266031829?
accountid=152046.
After realizing how drastically the suicide rates have been changing, the article touches on
several organizations, such as the IASP and the AFSP, and what they do to combat
suicide. The author focuses on support, and throughout the article she tends to talk about
family and familial reliance. This article also took account of the alarming trend of
suicide among Baby Boomers, but still states that there is progress being made in suicide
prevention.
“A new poll, released early this month by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention
(AFSP), found that most US adults (93 percent) would do something if someone close to them
was thinking about suicide. More than 80 percent said they disagreed with the idea that if
someone wants to die by suicide, there is nothing anyone can do about it.”
“ "We are making progress in preventing suicide," Reed wrote. To keep the momentum going, he
continued, "we must invest in the success we've had, bringing it to scale ... and reaching far more
of those who will benefit."”