The Problem Behind '13 Reasons Why' Memes.
Netflix’s new show ‘13 Reasons Why’ has been a hot topic for discussion over the last few weeks. The controversial show about suicide and the consequences of bullying is being discussed everywhere, receiving praise for discussing the harsh reality of bullying, while also being condemned for glorifying suicide.
After the show went viral, The National Youth Mental Health Foundation ‘headspace’ warned of the harm shows like ‘13 Reasons Why’ can do. Releasing a statement saying “National and international research clearly indicates the very real impact and risk to harmful suicide exposure leading to increased risk and possible suicide contagion."
As soon as the show was released, there was a plethora of meme’s on every social media platform. The memes use the main character’s introduction to the TV show as the catchphrase. On every single platform of social media, my newsfeed was full of “Welcome to your tape.”
If you haven’t watched the show, you might be wondering what it means. In the TV show the main character and story teller, Hannah Baker, records 13 tapes explaining the reasons why she committed suicide.
While many people are retweeting, commenting and sharing these memes, there’s a dangerous side to them. People are applauding the show for drawing the much needed attention to bullying and suicide, but yet people are still downplaying it.
My question is: Is suicide and mental health funny? Nope, didn’t think so, but these memes are still going strong. Even Netflix itself has used the “Welcome to your tape” meme.
This show has blatantly confirmed that suicide and mental health is still seen as a joke. Even if we're still praising the show for starting the discussion, it's shown that many people think that mental health and suicide is a joke, and that needs to stop.
We need to have more conversations about the severity of mental health and suicide, we need to learn It's not a funny catchphrase, it’s a serious issue that’s affecting millions of people a year. The moment we use mental health to express being dramatic, or over the top, is the moment we perpetuate the harmful stigma surrounding it.
As soon as these topics are being trivialised for someone's entertainment, it shows that the issue is much bigger than we think, and much more than this show can fix. If this show has taught us anything, it’s that we need to take suicide and mental health seriously, and it needs to stop being modified for peoples entertainment.
