So...?

There is a phenomenon called "suicide contagion" that helps explain a lot of this. It's the reason that they rush a lot of counselors into a high school (or even middle school) when there is a student suicide. In my experience, "suicide contagion" has two elements: one, teens identify more with the deceased peer than they do with their parents or other adults, and, paradoxically, when they hear "everyone is surprised, they all thought (s)he was so happy, with so much to live for," the teens who identify think, "Yeah, I know what that's like, nobody really caring, nobody really knowing what's going on with you." This is why appeals to empathy, such as "Your parents and friends will never get over this" don't seem effective.

The second component of "suicide contagion" appears to be the dramatic attention devoted to the deceased youth, the outpouring of letters, little bears and other gifts at the site, social media postings....to a teen who feels lonely, misunderstood, with low self esteem, these testimonials of love are very appealing. Again, rational appeals, "You won't be around to receive all that attention" don't seem to be heard by some teens.

A 2006 documentary about suicides on The Golden Gate Bridge, "The Bridge," where an average of one person a month has taken their life, shows the complex reasons that people suicide. What that movie documents that is also seen in Bridgend is that lack of mental health access (or refusal to use what is available) is the most common precipitant for suicide.