Wow, this is a really good point. Something’s been rubbing me the wrong way for years while hearing about “crackdowns on bullying” and I couldn’t articulate it to myself. I mean obviously this behavior needs to be taken seriously, victims protected and perpetrators punished. But Something seems off about reclassifying “bullying” as a felony etc. What you’re saying makes a lot more sense - if the “bullying” rises to criminal levels, it’s not “bullying” anymore! harassment and assault are fundamentally the same crimes whether they are committed in school settings or not, and they should be named and treated as such.
The dignity aspect gets to me too - there seems to be a certain underlying narrative of weakness when talking of someone who committed suicide because he or she “couldn’t handle the bullying” which might be less prevalent if we talked about the harassment differently.
These “characteristics of coverage” that you cited don’t all seem to be present in the current suicide media coverage-as described by you.
For example, you say the media coverage has many times featured stories that mention new anti-bullying initiatives that have arisen in response to suicides. You attempt to generalize these actions as “Presenting suicide as a tool for accomplishing certain ends”; which is one of the characteristics of coverage by media groups likely to cause suicide rates to increase. And you have other false comparisons, not just that one.
Yeah, but he’s talking about social media. The same social media the peers of said teen suicides use like second nature. Not to mention more “niche” and special interest news and blogger sites who would be interested in publicizing it to make points about how gay people are treated by society.
Why, when somebody brings up something like this must it be an “all on” or “all off” issue?
You do realize of course that there is a world of shading between - he’s a selfish arsehole that has no concern for others" and “he’s a tragic hero” right? You do realise that journalists are (at least supposed to be) masters of the english language with the ability to find the words and phrases to outline a middle ground?
Why is it not appropriate to mention, within a suicide story, the strain that a suicide puts many people under? The questions that are inevitably asked, the trouble the family is put through?
Building on this of course - (IMHO) “bullying” and “harrassment & assault” carry different meanings and tones.
Many of us will experience “bullying” and it won’t have a major effect - but I would suspect that few people experience bullying that rises to the level of harrassment and assault.
So I guess I am trying to say that it is a continuum, with bullying below harrassment. If we characterise the sort of systemic abuse that is going to lead to suicide as bullying then when I am bullied it makes it seem worse than it reallly is.
Coverage of just about anything will increase the chances of copycats. I say we stop coverage of murder, drunk driving, rape and a myriad of other heinous crimes. Because, you know, otherwise other people might do them.
I think that it becomes a problem when the media reports on the method used by people to end their lives, that leads to increased copycat behaviour
In the Netherlands one of the most common ways of suicide is jumping in front of a incoming train (harsh gun laws, no personal fireams for the public) the Dutch railways and the media have a agreement not to give to much attention to this
The only responsibility of media is fiduciary. Protests and boycotts and so on have sometimes worked in cases like this but I don’t think the nuanced argument you’re making would translate well. Morally, I think Little Nemo got it about right:
But should they be going into detail on specific people and their stories instead of reporting the trend in more general terms?
For the most part, people find stories much more interesting if they’re about people rather than statistics. Stories about numbers and trends get dry and boring if there is no human element. That’s not intended to justify mawkish or sensationalist coverage, but a story on a topic like this should combine personal anecdotes and solid data to create a narrative that is interesting on a personal level, shows that this is a trend of some significance and what causes it, and demonstrates what the trend means for individuals and what can be done about it. What kind of story are you more likely to read?
The problem is that a dry statistical report doesn’t have the impact of a tragic human interest story about a particular person. If you want to move the public to action you’ve got to reach them emotionally.
I suppose we could start a publicity campaign on the theme of “only losers commit suicide”. We could picket the funerals of teenagers that killed themselves and mock their memories in order to convince other kids that suicide isn’t cool. But I’ll admit I’m going to have mixed feelings the first time I look over and see Fred Phelps giving me a thumbs up.
I wonder if it makes straight people view the glbt crowd as victims instead of just, well, people who happen to not be attracted to members of the opposite sex. In some areas (like Boulder), being ‘gay’ is part of being in high school. In other areas, it’s The Worst Thing That You Could Have Ever Been Born With, Ever. The last thing I want as a teacher is to have a gay student and automatically feel sorry for them. I don’t object to the It Gets Better type campaigns, though. I wish people were better advocates about teen suicide and depression in general.
I don’t object to the It Gets Better type campaigns, though. I wish people were better advocates about teen suicide and depression in general.