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The media plays a role as to how society views suicide. The media control the stigma of suicide by using the Agenda Setting Theory. The agenda setting theory in mundane words says that the media controls how society view certain topics. It breaks down as to how the media frames the story. When a notable person passes due to suicide such as Robin Williams the media controls his narrative by reporting the story as "committing suicide". This is the same type of wording that new outlets use to describe crimes such as "committing a crime". When someone takes their own life it is not the same as committing a crime. . Suicide is horrific for all parties involved however, it is because of news outlets describing suicide as some sort of crime that makes it harder for suicidal people to ask for help. The news outlets also describe suicide as glamorous or sensational which will be explained in the paragraphs to come. It also makes it harder for families in mourning to talk about their complicated grief.

There are many shows about sports, singing, love, games, etc. However, the topic of suicide seemed to be too taboo because of the way society viewed it. There are limited series out there that shed some real light as to what suicidal people go through along with the aftermath of the people left behind. There are about two shows that accurately depict a suicide victim, one is not on mainstream television but is on Netflix.

Evelyn This is real life documentary on Netflix that chronicles the life of a family who lost their son/brother to suicide. In this case the brother was fine up until 18 and then he developed a mental illness. This is the case with most suicide victims, they are not in their right mind.

Another series that is a show with actors is called A Million Little Things'and it is aired on abc. A Million Little Things is based on real events that have transpired. It is about a group of male friends who unexpectedly come to find that one of their friends has taken his own life. The friend who took his life seemed to very happy and not depressed, however the viewer discovers that he was battling with depression. The deceased friend had a picket-fence family life as well as a steady, strong work life. There were no signs as to how miserable he really was.

In other shows such as The Office which aired on NBC mocked suicide and made jokes about killing themselves. In this case the media outlets are making fun of suicide, which frames suicide as a joke. The actor on the show said the line that suicide is the easy way out. When the media frames suicide as a joke, it makes it seem like suicide does not exist and its a myth. When in reality suicide is one of the leading killers in the U.S. When shows such as The Office use suicide as a punchline it downplays suicide. Also, it spreads misinformation, for examples when the actor said the line "suicide is the easy way out", viewers will consume the message that people who take their own life gave up when in reality a majority of them are battling with a incurable mental illness. Their brain betrayed them. In numerous shows the lead character Michael Scott played by actor Steve Carrell shouts out "I am going to kill myself" when something does not go his way, he wants to seek attention.

There is evidence as to how society and suicide coincide with each other. In the book "Reducing Suicide: A National Imperative" it goes into depth on how cultural factors and perceptions affect the suicidal community. It explains how there are four different types of variables in society culture that affect suicidal victims: individual, geographic, societal and geographic influences.

The impact media has on suicide depends on how it is depicted in the news. When the media glamorizes suicide in the news young people are more receptive to it. The media makes suicide look desirable, which is a morbid thought. For example, when photos of the deceased are posted or when detailed explanations are published as to how the deceased took their own life causes young people to become intrigued for the wrong reasons. Also, the media tends to narrow it down as to one specific problem as to why the person took their own life, however it is much more complex than that. The most common reason as to why someone would take their own life is because of mental illness, and this is constantly overlooked.

A show on Netflix called 13 Reasons Why was supposed to shed light on the growing suicide deaths amongst young people from ages 10-34 years of age. However, it faced major backlash because of the way the suicide victim was portrayed. The main character is a teenage girl called Hannah Baker who goes through number of trials in her high school career before taking her own life. Just as a suicide victim normally leaves a suicide note, Hannah Baker left 13 tape recordings, one for each person that caused her to take her own life. The show does not leave anything out and shows exactly how Hannah Baker passed away. The graphic scene that the show recorded will cause a imprint on a young person's mind. Young people are very impressionable and may be able to relate to Hannah Baker too much. There was a growing concern that copycats would arise because of how sensational the death looked. Also, in the show there were no mentions of mental illness or the help one could get when feeling suicidal.

How the media reports on suicide has a direct correlation to the increased deaths by suicide. When imitation suicides are completed this is called the Werther effect. There was a study conducted as to how media coverage on suicide effects people who are at risk of suicide. The conclusions are that there was a 13% increase in suicides after the media reported on a celebrity death by suicide and a 30% increase when the method of suicide was reported.