The rate of suicides might decrease if the media stopped reporting them. It sounds absurd, but there’s proven psychology at play.
Welcome to Plain Sight by Wyzr, where we bring hidden patterns into plain sight. Every week, we explore stories and ideas that help us understand why we are the way we are.
The Dark Psychology Behind Kota’s Crisis
Over the decades, tens of thousands of teenagers from all over the country have flocked to the city of Kota every year, carrying dreams and hopes of their own and of their middle-class parents, for whom no sacrifice is too big to give their children a chance to get into a top engineering or medical college. It’s an arduous but necessary pitstop en route to a place that guarantees that you’ll do alright in life.
That you won’t struggle like your parents did to make ends meet.
That you’ll give your parents the comfort they deserve in their old age.
That you’ll take the flight and not the train to go home, or anywhere else.
That you’ll be the source of envy for relatives and neighbours.
That you’ll get a spouse of your choice.
That you’ll make plans for London, not Lonavla, and Manila, not Manali.
That money will never be a problem in life.
And so much more.
Getting into a top college for these students is not just about the education, but the promise that life will be glorious afterwards. But it will need to be earned. Through the hard work of these 2-3 years.
But not everyone who comes to Kota is built for this. Many are misfits just trying to fulfill their parents’ dreams. Many try in the beginning but soon become realistic of their chances, and make peace with whatever the future has to offer. And there are a few who choose to horse around without a care in the world.
The most vulnerable, though, are perhaps those who attach their identity to their performance in these entrance exams. Their trauma on failure is beyond what any of us can fathom. It’s never pleasant to see a kid putting themselves under such immense pressure.
Unfortunately, a tragic trend has played out in the last couple of years in Kota.
Dozens of teenage students have taken their own lives — all linked in some way to success in the entrance exams they were preparing for. The numbers seemingly are on the rise.
But I have a question — was there anything apart from their failure to cope with the pressure that led them to take the extreme step? I want you to hold on to that thought.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1774 novel The Sorrows of Young Werther found itself in an unexpected controversy a few years after it was first released in Germany. The book tells the story of a sensitive young man, Werther, who falls hopelessly in love with a woman he cannot have. Overwhelmed by despair and romantic anguish, Werther ultimately takes his own life.
The novel became a massive cultural phenomenon across Europe, especially among young men who identified with Werther’s emotional turmoil. In the years following its release, a strange pattern started emerging.
More and more men started taking their own lives. And these were not just random coincidences. Many of these men dressed like Werther, and used similar methods as Werther had in the novel to end their lives. The phenomenon was so alarming that the book was banned in several regions to prevent further “copycat suicides”.
In the 20th century, this pattern of suicide contagion was formally studied. In 1974, sociologist David P. Phillips published a study in The American Sociological Review, where he analyzed suicide statistics in the US following news reports of suicides, particularly those involving celebrities.
He found a noticeable uptick in suicides in the weeks after prominent cases were covered in the media. Phillips concluded that vulnerable individuals, especially those who closely identified with the person who had died, were more likely to imitate the act. He called this phenomenon the Werther Effect, linking it directly to Goethe’s novel and its influence.
Modern studies have since confirmed Phillips’ findings. For instance, after the suicide of actor Robin Williams in 2014, researchers found a 10% rise in suicides in the US in the subsequent months, with a spike among middle-aged men—the same demographic as Williams.
The British Medical Journal published a meta-analysis in 2020 consolidating decades of global research, reinforcing the conclusion that media reporting on suicide—especially if graphic, sensationalized, or romanticized—can lead to increased suicide rates.
Closer home, this phenomenon was tragically evident following the death of Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020. Extensive and sensationalized media coverage of his suicide was linked to a notable rise in suicides across the country, particularly among young men aged 21 to 30.
Studies reported that more than 5% of total suicides in India during that period were associated with his death. In Himachal Pradesh, hanging suicides nearly doubled, and similar clusters were reported in cities like Kolkata, with some victims explicitly referencing the actor. The COVID-19 pandemic and its psychological toll likely intensified the effect. Online searches related to suicide also spiked in the days following the news, reflecting heightened public distress.
You understand where I’m getting to.
Yes, there’s no doubt those unfortunate young students in Kota were disturbed and vulnerable. But did the media reporting influence some of them to any extent? Could there have been students in two minds, whose resolve became firmer when they saw their peers also taking the drastic step? And they felt that perhaps it was okay if they did it too?
These are tough questions to which we’ll never know the answers to. But let’s look at the data for a moment.
Between 2015 to 2019, Kota reported 15-20 student deaths due to suicide each year. This was also the period when the coaching industry in the city was at its peak. 2-2.5 lakh students prepared for various entrance exams at any given point in this period.
In 2023, the number of such deaths increased to 26. But this was also accompanied by a drop in the number of students studying in the city—about 1.5-1.75 lakh as opposed to 2-2.5 lakh earlier.
And in 2025, the numbers have reportedly fallen below a lakh. The tragic part is that 14 students had already taken their lives in the first five months. Mathematically, it’s got much worse. I hope and pray the numbers don’t increase
The Werther Effect underscores a powerful, counterintuitive insight: that suicide, particularly when widely publicized, can be socially contagious. Vulnerable individuals may see themselves in the story being told and interpret it as validation for their own despair. It’s high time media outlets and even general discourse recognize this.
And perhaps not just suicides, but any undesirable act reported or talked about in an irresponsible manner is likely to propagate and influence more people on the edge. Unfortunately, as media gets more and more democratized, people can choose to listen and believe what they want to instead of what they should.
On that note, a question for you:
Have you ever found yourself or someone you know indulge in a behaviour or an activity you regret because it was publicized irresponsibly? Do you think such a problem could somehow be curtailed, maybe through a smarter technology or even policies?
Write to us (plainsight@wyzr.in) with your thoughts and experiences.
What we’re reading at Wyzr
Contagious by Jonah Berger — one of those books that helped me immensely in how I think about virality. It unpacks why some ideas spread like wildfire while others need a huge ad budget. One insight that stuck with me: we don’t share things just because they’re good — we share them because they make us look good.
Until next time.
Best,
Yashraj
