Introduction:
The number of suicides that have occurred over the past few decades have changed in many ways due to constant changes of societal norms and values that we as humans thrive to constantly maintain. The topic that will be covered in this paper is a comparison of the suicide rates from the 1970’s to present and also the differences in the reasons for suicide. Focus will be restricted to adolescents from the ages of fifteen to twenty four years old and how the pressure of society on adolescents has impacted suicide rates during this time frame. Throughout this article, I will attempt to answer this question based on case studies, peer-reviewed articles, and online resources.
To begin, suicide is defined as when an individual intentionally takes his/her own life (Medical dictionary, 2003). Typically, suicide is taken out by an individual who feels overwhelmed, …show more content…
We as humans need to feel part of society and fit in with the community. As such, we inherently thrive to constantly keep up with these changing values. From the 1970’s to present time, societal norms have gone through significant changes. Impacted adolescents unable to keep up find themselves isolated and arguably contributing to the increase in suicide rates.
The two time periods share the common reason of trying to fit into societal norms. However, one main difference lies with the evolution of media. Adolescents today have to fit in to society’s ideal image of them when that image changes almost daily through social media and confronts them through a multitude of sources. When they feel as though they cannot reach this almost unattainable standard, they begin to feel hopeless, and slip into depression, thus being the most significant reason as to why the rates of suicide seem much higher now than in the
The number of suicides that have occurred over the past few decades have changed in many ways due to constant changes of societal norms and values that we as humans thrive to constantly maintain. The topic that will be covered in this paper is a comparison of the suicide rates from the 1970’s to present and also the differences in the reasons for suicide. Focus will be restricted to adolescents from the ages of fifteen to twenty four years old and how the pressure of society on adolescents has impacted suicide rates during this time frame. Throughout this article, I will attempt to answer this question based on case studies, peer-reviewed articles, and online resources.
To begin, suicide is defined as when an individual intentionally takes his/her own life (Medical dictionary, 2003). Typically, suicide is taken out by an individual who feels overwhelmed, …show more content…
We as humans need to feel part of society and fit in with the community. As such, we inherently thrive to constantly keep up with these changing values. From the 1970’s to present time, societal norms have gone through significant changes. Impacted adolescents unable to keep up find themselves isolated and arguably contributing to the increase in suicide rates.
The two time periods share the common reason of trying to fit into societal norms. However, one main difference lies with the evolution of media. Adolescents today have to fit in to society’s ideal image of them when that image changes almost daily through social media and confronts them through a multitude of sources. When they feel as though they cannot reach this almost unattainable standard, they begin to feel hopeless, and slip into depression, thus being the most significant reason as to why the rates of suicide seem much higher now than in the