Netflix blasted over copycat suicides

Netflix usually draws cheers when it announces a new season for one of its shows — but not this time for its series on teenagers about suicide.

Critics fear a third season of “13 Reasons Why” may spark copycat violence amid reports that suicide rates have increased across the country.

Last year, a 23-year-old Peruvian man killed himself, leaving behind a series of audiotapes similar to those recorded by Hannah (played by Katherine Langford), whose suicide is the catalyst for the Netflix series.

What’s more, two California teens committed suicide after the broadcast of the show’s first season in March 2017. Their parents noted that they were watching “13 Reasons Why” days before their fateful decisions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that suicide rates rose in nearly every state from 1999 to 2016, with at least a 30 percent increase in about half of the states.

In the 19 days after the debut of “13 Reasons Why,” Google searches for “suicide” jumped nearly 20 percent, according to a JAMA Internal Medicine study. Those numbers reflect 900,000 to 1.5 million more searches than typical for the subject matter. Popular search phrases included “how to kill yourself.”

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