Every show with a suicide now has a disclaimer with a suicide hotline at the beginning. Is there any evidence that these warnings make a positive difference?

  • @yesman
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    473 months ago

    The national suicide prevention hotline is almost always too busy and callers often need to wait on hold. They’ve calibrated everything from the hold music, the script, and the recorded voice to keep callers on the line.

    This factoid splits people pretty evenly between those who find it horrifying and those who find it hilarious.

    I should say that according to the hotline, the changes made to the hold system has resulted in 100,000 fewer hang-ups per year.

    • @[email protected]
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      edit-2
      3 months ago

      Are you telling me they intentionally avoid playing Van Halen - Jump for anyone put on hold?

      • @Brickhead92
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        63 months ago

        No, you see the trick is to play Jump by Van Halen exactly once at the right time followed immediately by Killing in the name of by Rage Against the Machine.

        This combo is super effective… As long as the stay listen until the end.

    • @Noedel
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      83 months ago

      The word hang up threw me off a little given the context