Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther achieved great publishing success after its publication in 1774. Its protagonist is a sensitive and passionate young man who falls in love with Lotte, who cannot reciprocate due to her engagement. What we would classify today as a best seller, however, had an impact that transcended the commercial sphere and that is that more than 40 people took their lives in a similar way to how Werther does in this precursory work of Romanticism.
The Werther effect or copycat is the name given to the phenomenon by which the notification of the suicide of someone famous, in a kind of parasocial relationship, can prompt a person to imitate their death. It is a term coined by sociologist David Philips in 1974, who dedicated almost two decades to the study of the imitative effect of suicide. In one of his investigations, Phillips revealed that the suicide rate could increase by up to 12% in the month after The New York Times published the news of someone they knew taking their own life.
It is estimated that more than 300 people committed suicide shortly after the death of Marylin Monroe became public in 1962. Something similar happened in 1994, when the disappearance of Kurt Cobain caused a wave of suicides in the United States. The treatment of the suicidal person as a hero by the media can cause people with suicidal tendencies to consider this as an escape route, especially if we are talking about characters who are references or admired by a mass of people.
Also in the private sphere, self-harm attempts and completed suicides of close relatives pose a risk to other people in the environment who, according to Óscar Castillero in an article in Psychology and Mind, may come to value, attempt or even imitate the methodology of the suicidal act. . The population most likely to be affected by the Werther effect are young people, especially those who are at risk of social exclusion. Suicide, which is already the first external cause of death in Spain according to the INE, has a special impact on this group.
Going back to the times when the media treated suicide as taboo would be a leap backwards. However, journalists must apply certain codes of ethics to address this issue. Instead of romanticizing, romanticizing, or sensationalizing suicide, alternatives and mechanisms to prevent suicide should be presented. This is what is known as the Papageno effect, in honor of the character in The Magic Flute who aborts an autolytic attempt after the appearance of three spirits that make him rethink his situation.
The visibility of examples of improvement and possible help options is also capable of awakening hope among people who are going through a delicate moment in their lives. The media have the power and responsibility to report on cases of other people who have left adverse situations behind so that the population at risk of suicide stops self-inflicted and considers effective alternatives to confront the difficulties.
