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Suicidal people want desperately to feel as though they are not alone in the world, as deep depression is the loneliest feeling there is. The internet is simply a conduit for all of these folks to connect. I don't think the internet is responsible for people's suicide, but rather for providing them with the comfort of knowing they aren't alone in their despair. How do I know? I've been suicidal, and know the deep loneliness that comes from that kind of anguish. I would have given anything to know someone else shared my feelings, but didn't have the Internet to lean on at that time.

# posted by Rootietoot 4:00 PM

Well, you're not alone here!

I alwyas thought that the Internet mostly helped depressed and possibly suicidal people. I remember reading stories of people who would post to bulletin boards some of their feelings of despair and found support and encouragement from people all over the world. But I guess the flipside can happen and it can bring people together for suicide.

# posted by Alice 6:45 PM

Our life is driven by a be most supreme. God. Do not I know you agree with me. But everybody we must our life to him. The one that strip to its own life or the strip the life of his semenhantes. It will pay a price by that act. We have problems. Problems that can be good or bad. But it is not motive of we will remove our life. I think like this.

# posted by Jon 8:05 PM

There we go blaming the internet for all the evil things that happen today. All kinds of information are available online, but each individual is repsonsible for what they do with that information. There's also lots of advise but do you have to take them all?
If anything, I would think connecting with other people going through similar issues would encourage suicidal individuals to live and face another day on this earth.

# posted by Leolar 10:11 PM

do you know what bugs me the most about this thread?
its that post by jon . someone who doesnt know how to speak english not having the common sense to translate from whatever his native language is, into english .
That just bugs me , a lot .
And on the actual subject of the thread , I had read about this in a magazine and wanted to find out more about it ! basically , people are always looking for whoever cares enough to try to stop them doing what they have already decided to do . suicidal people test those around them , provoke them into seeing whether they do actually care , whether anyone actually cares , some people already consider themselves dead spiritually and emotionally i mean , and are just looking around for the right moment to be physically dead , their looking for that total lack of care from everyone around them that they know exists .
thats what i think anyway !

# posted by Anonymous 11:33 PM

Sorry if Jon's post bugs you, Todd. I have a reasonable command of Spanish but, as a second language I use only rarely, if I had a desire to express myself in it on such a personal issue I'm sure it would come out a lot worse. Does that diminish my feelings? No, not all. Would that invalidate my feelings? Again, no.

The Internet has become the Great Enabler of our time and one of the things it tends to facilitate, because of our ability to be anonymous, is our intolerance. The front end of your post is a great example of that problem.

# posted by Bill 3:45 AM

I'll leave talking about the suicide soulution till the appropriate time. The only reason I posted here was the cheap shot I read about somebodies english. English is one of the world's crazy languages (it hardly ever works according to the rules) discussing it along side suicide is just inappropriate

# posted by Anonymous 6:11 AM

"Dozens of people"? Are we seriously worried about this? What a fantastic example of a lackluster media member sensationalizing something really, really small. I would imagine more people die of hooking up their power supplies wrong than die in internet suicide pacts.

# posted by Anonymous 6:16 AM

Hey, Todd, what do yo do when you're not on the computer, drown kittens? A death, one single death, out of the 3 or so billion people on this planet is a tragedy, sometimes acceptable, sometimes not. Death falls into all sorts of categories, but noting something under the "Preventable" column isn't sensationalizing --no more than noting that Dell is recalling potentially defective power supplies. It's a way to make people aware.

# posted by Bill 6:40 AM

Suicide is not the way out of any problems (except maybe voting for bush or republician). Has as been mentioned in previous replies, whenever someone has posted that they are depressed and thinking of such a thing, they usually find that alot of people will come to their aid. They just have to take that step.

# posted by Cameron 9:38 AM

Actually I think Jon speaks Portugese. If it had come through the filters IN Portugese I could see a ridiculously fine point. If this burns anyone who reads posts on an international medium like the internet, I recommend you leave and don't come back. It's not going to change and will only piss you off more.

As for the original post - it's information to digest, something to be aware of. Maybe by knowing this, more can be done to help those in need and A LIFE might be saved. I'd call that a good thing. That's the way I think.

# posted by WRM 11:08 AM

Actually I think Jon speaks Portugese. If it had come through the filters IN Portugese I could see a ridiculously fine point. If this burns anyone who reads posts on an international medium like the internet, I recommend you leave and don't come back. It's not going to change and will only piss you off more.

As for the original post - it's information to digest, something to be aware of. Maybe by knowing this, more can be done to help those in need and A LIFE might be saved. I'd call that a good thing. That's the way I think.

# posted by WRM 11:08 AM

Well, I will stick with my orginal point(s) that anytime you connect up people, there is always the chance for "good" and "bad" to come of it. Why? Simply because people are both.

There are highly organized child porn rings, neo Nazi groups, KKK supremecay groups, satanic cults, and so on, and there is no doubt that the internet makes finding people of those beliefs easier than the old days. But there are also senior citizens who were previously in isolation experiencing new friendships and community, hobby groups, tech lovers like us!, and on and on, all able to connect and even in this case, disucss our views on technologies like the Internet on the Internet.

I do think it's easy to write "shocking" piece like the suicide one and get a lot of attention over something that isn't this major crisis. There was that case recently where a human cannibal found a guy via the Web and then he actually flew the guy to his house and ate him. It goes on and on. If I were a bettin' gal, I would bet that the internet is probably more helpful to suicidal people than detrimental, and that people who enter into pacts with strangers are already pretty out there to begin with and not the average troubled teen, or isolated person in need of some support.

Anyway, this is a good thread.

# posted by Alice 11:27 AM

I'm horrified by the attitudes of other comment-posters on this subject. Anything involving a whole human life deserves attention, love and kindness. Are we not all humans with complex emotions? Are you people made of stone? If you've ever felt pain or struggled in any way, then it is your duty as a human being to reach out to others who are enduring the same, or even worse. Plato said, "Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a harder battle." You write your comments without a single care for these people who felt so sad and neglected simply because there wasn't more of them? Thank God there wasn't more! How many deaths would suffice a tragedy? If the rest of the world begins to treat me in such a callous manner that drives me to my ultimate demise, you'll have people like yourselves to thank.

# posted by Chinadoll 6:57 AM