The Hopeless World of “13 Reasons Why”
Our friends at the Colson Center for Christian Worldview have published an excellent commentary on the Netflix original series “13 Reasons Why.”
Based on the novel Thirteen Reasons Why, the series follows a group of high school students in the wake of a classmate’s suicide.
John Stonestreet writes,
If you’re a parent, chances are you’ve heard about the series. If you’re a parent in a place like Colorado Springs, where literally dozens of teenagers have committed suicide in recent years, you’re probably asking yourself whether the show will only make a bad situation worse. . . .
The National Association of School Psychologists agrees, having issued the following statement: “We do not recommend that vulnerable youth, especially those who have any degree of suicidal ideation, watch this series. Its powerful storytelling may lead impressionable viewers to romanticize the choices made by the characters and/or develop revenge fantasies.”
Parents, we need to understand the impact that shows like this can have on our teens. And ultimately, we need to show our children what love really means—and where our hope in life truly lies.
We want to build a culture that values and protects human life. That includes opposing efforts to normalize or promote suicide.
You can read Stonestreet’s entire commentary here.
Photo Credit:By Wing-Chi Poon [CC-BY-SA-3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
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