"13 Reasons Why" May Have Actually Had a Positive Effect

Some people freaked out about the Netflix show "13 Reasons Why", because they were worried that it glamorized teen suicide . . . and might even inspire kids to kill themselves.

But, a new study from Northwestern University suggests that the show had a POSITIVE effect on kids.  The study was commissioned by Netflix, mainly because they wanted to act on some of the results. 

Here are five highlights . . .

1.  71% of teens and young adults found the show relatable, and nearly three-quarters of teen and young adult viewers said the show made them feel MORE comfortable processing tough topics.

2.  More than 50% reached out to someone to apologize for how they had treated them.

3.  Nearly 75% of teens said they tried to be more considerate about how they treated others after watching the show.

4.  Two-thirds of parents asked to have the cast come out of character to discuss how to get support.  And Netflix is making that happen.  A custom intro will be added at the start of each season with the cast.  

(Here's the video.)

5.  More than half of parents asked for more guidance from mental health experts.  And they're also making that happen.  Additional resources have been added to 13ReasonsWhy.Info, which will now also include a viewing guide.

Season Two of "13 Reasons Why" premieres sometime later this year.

(Netflix released a video of a couple of "13 Reasons Why" viewers talking about how the show changed their lives.)

(Netflix put out a summary of the study's findings on their site, and Northwestern has all the results, here.)