p2pnet news | P2P:- Until now, mention of online suicides has usually meant Japan.

However Britain, too, is experiencing similar problems with teenagers and Bebo in the spotlight.

In Japan, the communications and Net services industry is planning to provide police information on people who post messages suggesting they may be close to committing suicide, said the Kyodo news agency, going on:

"Four communications industry groups have worked out guidelines for submitting the information, which could include the names and addresses of such people. Rising numbers of Japanese are dying each year in group suicides after meeting online via suicide web sites, posing a new problem for officials trying to tackle the nation’s alarmingly high suicide rate."

Seventy people, "committed group suicides linked to the Internet, eclipsing last year’s total of 55′."

That was in 2005 and in 2008, Britain, "The MP who represents the town where at least seven teenagers have committed apparent copycat suicides has criticised social networking sites for creating a ‘virtual world’ where actions appear to have no consequences," says Times Online.

"Madeleine Moon, the Bridgend MP, urged friends of suicide victims not to go online but to seek professional help, after the death of Tasha Randall, 17 (left), last Thursday, who was the latest teenager in a group of friends to commit suicide.

"Her death has alarmed parents, health authorities and police, who believe that the suicides may be prompted by messages on social networking sites such as Bebo."

Now, "A coroner in south Wales said today he had ‘no idea’ what lay behind the rising spate of suicides by young people in the area," says Guardian Unlimited, continuing:

"The comment by Philip Walters came as local police downplayed suggestion that they were investigating an internet "suicide chain" following claims that the deaths of seven young people were linked to the social networking site Bebo.

"The latest victim, Natasha Randall, 17, was found dead at her family home in Blaengarw, near Bridgend last week. Two other teenage girls who knew her attempted to harm themselves the following day. Last night, one of them was still on a life support machine in hospital, while the second girl was discharged from hospital.

"Police believe that all the victims may be linked, possibly because they met online."

Copycat suicides are well-known, "with research proving a connection between reports of suicide in the media and a spate of deaths," says Times Online, "but, in Bridgend, the tributes left on Bebo appear to have had a significant impact. Friends have set up memorial pages where well-wishers have posted messages, or bought virtual ‘tablets’ in a remembrance wall.

"The tablets on Tasha’s memorial page include the messages ‘RIP chick,’ ‘Sleep Tight Princess’ and ‘Sweet dreams, Angel’."

Claiming the spate of suicides "defies belief," Moon said social networking sites were, "unhealthy for many young people," the story states, going on to quote her as declaring:

I have long wondered about all of these websites. People will post information, post photographs, they will post contact details that they would never have walked into a local pub and done themselves, but they will post them online to total strangers. That is crazy.

Britain is not, though, alone.

In the US, 13-year-old Megan Meier (right) hanged herself after ‘Josh,’ a fake MySpace member, said unkind things about her.

Slashdot it!

Also See:-

close to committing suicide – Japanese Net-linked suicides, August 25th, 2005
Times Online – MP warns against social networking sites after suicides, January 23, 2008
Guardian Unlimited – Coroner baffled at spate of suicides, January 23, 2008
hanged herself – Megan Meier ‘Net suicide’ case revived, January 9, 2008

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 at 8:33 am and is filed under P2P. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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