Suicide Rates Among Kid 10 to 14 Years Old Have Actually Tripled, Experts Blame Social Media

Disclosure: A few of the links below might include affiliate links from Patriot Depot, a sister business of The Western Journal. By making purchases through these links, you’ll be helping to support The Western Journal.

Both suicide and homicide rates among kids, teens and young people have increased a worrying quantity, according to a brand-new report by the Center for Illness Control and Prevention.

These heartbreaking stats raise a crucial concern: What is triggering the increase?

Ad-story continues below While a specific cause was not recognized, a number of experts think excessive use of social networks may be to blame.

Deaths due to suicide and murder are “a major cause of sudden death to persons aged 10– 24 in the United States,” according to the report published earlier this month.

The CDC states suicide was the 2nd leading cause of death for individuals from 10 to 24 years old and homicide ranked as the 3rd for those in between 15 to 24 years of ages.

While those stats are concerning enough, the steep boost of violent deaths for this age group reveals just how prominent this issue is for our country’s children, teenagers and young people.

Ad-story continues below According to the report, suicide rates among children from 10 to 14 years old

increased 56 percent from 2007 to 2017.”After a stable period from 2000 to 2007, suicide rates for individuals aged 10– 24 increased from 2007 to 2017,” the report’s lead author Sally Curtin wrote.

(Courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention)In 2007 suicide rates were reported as 6.8 deaths per 100,000 people, however in 2017 that rate increased to 10.6.

Homicide rates within that very same age group, which had actually been declining from 2007 to 2014, increased 18 percent from 2014 to 2017.

Ad-story continues below What is much more concerning is that the suicide rates for kids from 10 to 14 years of ages” almost tripled “from 2007 to 2017 although the rates for this age are the

most affordable. In fact, according to the report, the suicide rate for this younger age group was more than twice the murder rate in 2017.

(Courtesy of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention)

While the report demonstrates how widespread deaths by suicide and murder are for 10- to 24-year-olds, it does not indicate a cause in the increases in suicide rates.

Advertisement- story continues below Specialists, nevertheless, believe excessive use

of social media may be to blame. Caroline Oppenheimer, an assistant teacher of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh, informed NBC News that teenagers are concerned about receiving sufficient validation from their fans on social networks, especially “susceptible” teens.

“We know that the teenage brain is very conscious peer feedback and social valuation and now with social networks you can inspect your social status 24/7: how lots of fans you have, the number of comments your post has gotten and the number of likes,” Oppenheimer said.

“We understand both girls and kids are greatly invested in monitoring social media. They get distressed when they don’t get a great deal of likes or positive feedback.”

Ad -story continues listed below Dr. Igor Galynker, director of the Mount Sinai Beth Israel Suicide Lab in New York City, said this might be due to bullying that happens on the various platforms, especially among women.

“It’s known that women are bullied online more than kids,” he said, adding that increased screen time “is associated with increased rates of stress and anxiety, anxiety and suicidal ideation.”

Floyd Brown and Todd Ceffaratti argue in their just recently released book, “Huge Tech Tyrants,” that tech business must be held liable for they think is a clear contribution to the increased suicide rates.

“Does that mean society should accept these stress factors as something we can do absolutely nothing about?” they asked in the book. “Or perhaps the stress representatives should be treated like the devices to murder they might well be?”

Advertisement-story continues listed below Dr. Albert Wu, from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, told NBC News the brand-new CDC report “represents a quiet epidemic that’s been going on for more than ten years in the U.S. and which has been getting force” among our children, teens and young adults.

“Suicide is an enormous problem concealing in plain sight, maybe in part, since we hesitate as a society to talk about it,” he stated.

Collin Kartchner, an advocate for reduced screen time for teenagers, informed The Western Journal in July that increased social media is a big factor to the “nationwide public health crisis.”

“There are a lot of excellent kids that are using social networks to do terrific things, but for a majority of them, it’s destroying their lives,” he said.

Ad-story continues below

Experts agree that the best way to help your loved ones is to find out the warning indications that suggest they may be having suicidal ideas.

According to the Suicide Avoidance Lifeline, signs can include an increased discussion about death, feeling hopeless and more.

If you or someone you understand is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting SPEAK TO 741-741.

We are dedicated to truth and precision in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.