The 10th leading cause of death in America, with an average of 123 deaths per day, suicide impacts all generations.

  Young adults aged 15-24 had a suicide rate of 13.2 per 100,000 people during 2016. While these statistics are on a surprisingly low end for the rest of the age groups, an average of 13.2 young adults dying out of 100,000 people by way of suicide is a horrible thought.

  Even more surprising is the last ‘low’ this age group had was 10 years ago. In 2007, the suicide rate was 9.7, jumping to 13.2 in a decade.

  With one suicide every 40 seconds around the world, we need to learn what is going on and how to stop it.

  There is much speculation as to why people are watching the suicide rate rise before their eyes, and the most common reason people come up with is pretty simple: Social media.

  Being relatively new, a lot of researchers are still researching exactly how social media is affecting the young adults of our generation.

  Good or bad, many people believe that creation of social media and rising suicide rates are not just a coincidence.

  According to a medical journal by the American Academy of Pediatrics, parents aren’t aware of just how harmful social media can be to their children. Cyberbullying, harassment, sexting, and even a phenomenon called Facebook Depression.

  Facebook Depression is “defined as depression that develops when preteens and teens spend a great deal of time on social media sites, such as Facebook, and then begin to exhibit classic symptoms of depression” are things for parents to be worried about.

  The sad reality of the situation is that social media does take its toll on young people. Bullies are easier to come by, along with harassment, as people can hide behind a screen name.

  Take into account Megan Meier, the inspiration for the movie Cyberbully. Bullied to the point of suicide by her friend and her friend’s mom; Megan will never get to see what her life could’ve been after 13.

  Sadie Riggs was just 15 years old when she committed suicide, and it all started because she had red hair.

  “Sadie was tormented on Facebook, Instagram, messaging platform Kik — where classmates would tell her to kill herself” said Elizabeth Chuck, author of “Is Social Media Contributing to Rising Teen Suicide Rate?”.

  A 13 year old and a 15 year old pushed to the point of suicide because they couldn’t take the bullying anymore. Unfortunately, this has become the social norm of today.  

  In a research study to find just how easily it is to get information on suicide, Lucy Biddle and a group of colleagues searched and examined the first 10 results of various broad terms about suicide put into multiple search engines. With 480 hits, Biddle found that just about a fifth of the sights were suicide sites.

  “Half of these were judged to be encouraging, promoting, or facilitating suicide; 43 contained personal or other accounts of suicide methods, providing information and discussing pros and cons but without direct encouragement; and two sites portrayed suicide or self harm in fashionable terms” said Biddle.

  Suicide surrounds us, no matter where we are.

  Even at our own school, 89.7% of people interviewed knew someone who has committed or considered committing suicide.

  Of those 89.7% o people, approximately 40.4% said that the person they knew was aided by social media in some way.

  Whether or not we like it, suicide is affecting a lot of people, even at Heritage; and social media does have a lot to do with it.

  As a society, we aren’t careful enough on social media. If we don’t become more careful, the young adult suicide statistics with an average of 13.2 young adults committing suicide per 100,000 people last year will rise to a number we may never think of within the next few years.

  As today’s growing adults, we need to take a step back and realize what we’re putting online and how it affects the people that’ll see it.

  Even more so, we need to educate the next generation as well as the older ones. As long as people are more educated upon the subject, the less likely they are to put things up that’ll hurt others.

  Suicide is a serious life decision, and young adults are making it at a surprising rate. From parents to classmates, even to people they never knew within their own town, suicide affects everyone.

  Change starts with this generation.