

Teens form suicide pact on BeBo with seven victims so far - Alex3917
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;jsessionid=3A5PYNLS33ZTXQFIQMGCFFOAVCBQUIV0?xml=/news/2008/01/23/nsuicide123.xml

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dreish
Seven children dead by their own hand within a year. "How do you protect your
children from the Internet?" asks the Telegraph.

The same year (in the U.S.), at least 5,000 teens die in car accidents, the
leading cause of death for teenagers. Where are the articles about how to
protect your children from cars?

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eas
If dozens of teens started purposely driving their cars into trees then you
would probably see those articles.

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dreish
Why dozens? I thought our threshold was seven, in which case I would be
surprised if that doesn't happen every year. In fact, I'll bet far more than
seven teen suicides a year would, if they could be interviewed after the fact,
cite suburban boredom (and thus the automobile and its transformative effects
on society) as the reason for their suicide.

My point was just that this article is the same sort of garbage I thought we'd
finally moved past ten years ago. In the 1990s, you could barely open a
newspaper or watch TV news without seeing a story about all the scary dangers
of the Internet. Child predators can reach through the screen and snatch your
children away! If you ever buy anything online, you might as well declare
bankruptcy now because your identity will be stolen! Images of breasts turn
children into axe murderers!

Please.

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shawndrost
I'm reminded of Malcolm Gladwell discussing suicide as a contagious act in
"The Tipping Point".

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Leon
I've heard discussions of why local news papers do not report teen suicides as
suicides in obituaries for precisely the reason of copy cat effects in the
community.

I'm have not read 'The Tipping Point' but surely it makes similar arguments.
The question I would like to know answered is if the Telegraph is helping the
situation through improved discussions on teen suicide and the need to help
youth suffering from depression or will they spawn copy cat effects by
broadcasting nationally/world wide of a suicide craze. I certainly hope that
the youth in the community are helped and that this fad is stopped.

~~~
curi
While the copycat fear is valid, I think in the longrun suppressing
information about teen suicide can't be a reliable way to prevent it.

To reliably prevent teen suicide, you need to have _error correction_ \-- when
someone has a mistaken idea about it, you persuade them of a better idea. This
requires providing accurate information, not hoping they'll never think of bad
ideas in the first place.

~~~
Leon
True, but the article is not focusing on information to correct mistaken
ideas, but on the rise of a terrible fad among teens in several small
communities. The article tells how some kids think it is 'cool', that those
who have followed receive attention after they are gone in the form of
websites, and that it is easier to discuss and deal with feelings on social
websites instead of with family members or mental health professionals. I am
just worried that a youth viewing such a news article might receive the wrong
impression.

I do agree with you, but I still have criticism with this article
specifically. They do not even give information on hot-lines, websites, or
anonymous groups to help those who need/want help.

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pius
That is extremely creepy.

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paulgb
The idea of teens killing themselves because it is the current fad sounds like
something from the Onion or another satire news. The fact that it's real is
unsettling.

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mattmaroon
That is some brilliant marketing by Facebook right there.

