Is social media to blame?
An increasing number of American teens -- boys and girls -- are choosing to commit suicide by hanging and the government is asking the public to be more vigilant about suicide's warning signs.
A study by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported suicide is now the second-leading cause of death among children and young adults aged 10 to 24. Over 5,000 teens and young adults died by suicide in 2012, said CDC, which classifies hanging as death by suffocation.
CDC issued a list of warning signs parents, sibling, friends and relative must be aware of when they see troubling behavior in someone they love.
CDC emphasizes it's vitally important not to leave a person who shows signs of suicide alone. If a person shows any of these signs, CDC urges people to immediately call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
"If somebody is close to someone who is acting this way, it is OK to talk to them," said CDC suicide expert Thomas Simon.
The warning signs include:
- Talking about wanting to die
- Talking about feeling trapped
- Talking about feeling unbearable pain, or feeling like a burden to others
- Acting anxious or agitated
- Behaving recklessly
- Becoming socially isolated
Guns and poisoning are first and third leading causes of death in the 10 to 24 year-old age group, according to the CDC, as reported by the US News and World Report.
Among persons aged 10-24 years, suicide rates by hanging are higher in males than in females. Suicide rates by suffocation (including hanging) have been increasing among females in this age group since the early 1990s, said the CDC report.
CDC said results of the analysis indicated that suicide rates by suffocation increased, on average, by 6.7 percent and 2.2 percent annually for females and males, respectively from 1994 to 2012,
Suicide rates overall decreased among young men and boys from 1994 to 2007 but rose again. Suicide rates for girls and women also rose after 2007.
CDC is worried this might be a trend fueled by social media. Part of this worry stems from the fact hanging is almost always lethal compared to poisoning, said NBC News.
"It seems to be a pervasive pattern," said Simon to NBC News. "The data don't allow us to determine why".
"Is it social media? Is it conventional media? Is it access to other methods?" he asked.
It's a troubling trend and it's not clear what's driving it, said CDC.
