.
Secondly, lengthy descriptions of the ways of self-murders are not only sensation producers, but they can serve as instructions on how to do them. The common observation is that after the presentation of a particular suicidal death in the media, there is an increase in the number of similar deaths. In this manner, people with suicidal intentions discover new, probably more attractive methods for themselves, and waves of suicides come into existence. An example for this comes from the late 1960s, when during a shorter period of time some twenty men killed themselves by throwing stones tied to metal wires on the high voltage lines in Hungary. Some might think that the brutal presentation of the execution of the action in the media will prevent people from acting similarly. Nevertheless, I think that because of the self-hatred that is presumed to be present in a suicidal person, the brutality is rather a drawing force in many cases.
The third problem with reports on suicides is that under certain circumstances the inadequate character-drawing of the perpetrator might result in identification with him/her and thus, leads to the imitation of the death. Tabloids usually interview the victims' friends, relatives or neighbors, who tend to depict a positive image of the victim with much affection. Furthermore, it is evident from the coverage that the people in the environment of the victim focus intensively on the tragedy and on the perpetrator as well. This recognition of other people and the concentrated attention are what most of the vulnerable individuals seek. Thus, first they just imagine this state for themselves, and after the identification they do not shrink back from trying to reach that in the same way. These are those victims who do not want to die; they just want more love, which they cannot get otherwise. The probability of identification is larger among people whose age and social situation agree with those of the victim, therefore, the increase of suicidal rates is larger in those groups.
