Suicide Online - Mis-placed Value

Another anecdote, a very sad one, now forms an unfortunate part of the Internet 'incidents', on the social web page that you, I, and millions of others are connected to. Not just about socializing any more, also about death. Abraham Biggs, a young man of 19, posted on one of these Blog sites, to be exact - on BuddyBuilding.com - a disturbing note of intended suicide, in which he announced that for those who wished to and had a web-cam, could view live the whole process of his self inflicted death. At the actual gruesome moment taking place, the web record showed 181 people were connected to his page. Some of these had alerted the police, but they didn't arrive in time. Amongst the written comments accompanying the images, were exclamations like "Oh my God, no!!" but there were quite a few more aptly described as 'guffaws'. Blog sites offer great opportunities to connect with people, share interests, ideas, experiences, experiments, to teach or learn, to buy or sell, to look for whatever one seeks ... but there amongst the users, more vulnerably the adolescents, who live in a sort of unrecognised schizophrenia, who have personalities real and normal for their families and friends, but at the same time having constructed for themselves another quite different personality, identity or environment online, a digital personality. Sort of a haven or refuge, compensating for all the disappointments or frustrations they feel they have in their day to day life. When the balance tips the wrong way, tragedy might happen. I certainly don't mean Internet is to be blamed for all the bad things, not even this very sad suicide. It would be the same as to condemn trains because there have been people who threw themselves onto the tracks. I feel that preventive cautions can be taken only when education in school, and in the family, is adequately given not just to gain academic knowledge, but to build a sane and healthy mind, being able to recognise right and wrong, and the true value of life. May tomorrow be a much happier one for everybody. Tags:suicideonline

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