U of R prof concerned with northern suicide media attention

The tragic suicides of six girls, 14 and younger, in northern Saskatchewan has received a fair amount of media attention – something that worries a University of Regina professor.
 
“I’m concerned it might influence other young people to take their lives,” said Dr. Alec Couros, who’s a specialist in media studies.
 
“Suicide is often seen as a copycat phenomenon to young people and if they see it in the media they’re curious and there is little understanding of the long-term consequences of taking your own life.”
 
Couros called the attention a catch 22 because while it addresses the lack of mental health services in the north, it also prompts all types of conversation around suicide.
 
“We don’t know how young people will consume the information and we also don’t know if they will have the supports from adults around them,” he said.
 
“We need to make sure the adults see the warning signs that a teenager might commit suicide and prevent it.”
 
That’s why Couros believes it’s important for media and citizens not explain how people choose to end their lives.
 
“When people are experiencing a great deal of depression, these ideas they’ve seen in the media can be planted in their mind – which isn’t a good thing,” he said.