Is The Internet Linked To Welsh Suicides?

Seven Young People Who Used Social Network Site Have Taken Their Lives

(CBS)  A small town in Wales is dealing with a string of suicides that some believe is Internet-related.

CBS News correspondent Richard Roth reports that the latest victim was 17-year-old Natasha Randall; she hanged herself in the bedroom of her home in Blaengarw.

It is the seventh such tragic death in Wales this year - at least six young men, who shared some link, have also taken their own lives.

Some of the seven were casual acquaintances; they all used Internet chat rooms or a social networking site called Beebo. They also all lived within a few miles of each other. But police say neither the Internet sites nor any other shared connection explains the cluster of suicides.

In Bridgend, a former coal-mining town of 40,000, authorities are now re-examining a total of 13 suicides in the past year by people under age 30.

"There does seem to be an increase in the suicide rate particularly recently," said Darren Matthews of Bridgend Samaritans. "We have seen a number of suicides of quite young people. It is very difficult."

Police have said there's no proof any of the victims were driven to suicide as a result of Internet conversations, though when three boys in Northern Ireland killed themselves last year, a psychologist there said the Internet sites they had frequented may have been influential.

Dr. Arthur Cassidy told the BBC he believed the victims and friends in County Armagh were linked by a suicide pact.

"They seemed to have played a salient aspect as far as we know but we have to be cautious because we simply can't deny that they don't play a part," he said.

The parents of 15-year-old Leah Phillips are desperate to know what's going on. Their teenager just barely survived a suicide attempt this week when she was dicovered hanging from a dressing gown cord.

A neighbor, Andrew Grzywaczewski helped save Leah's life by cutting the cord tied around her neck as her stepfather held her off the ground. The 30-year-old then gave Leah mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until she began breathing again.

"If I could understand why she done it, maybe she could try help save another child," Tina Phillips said.

But Leah's simply told them she doesn't know why she tried to take her own life.

[ki8911]

I don''t think anyone will be able to find the answer. I have been struggling the last 4 years trying to rack my brain, my heart, my soul, to understand why my beautiful Erika killed herself at 15. I''ll never know what it was that crushed her inside that life was so unbearable that she had to hang herself. We as humans and parents desparately want an answer as to why, but blaming it on something like the Internet is just like saying its god will? That''s not an answer, it is a scapegoat. We refuse to look in the mirror, that how we are as parents is going to totally influence our children. Blaming something or someone else is denial of respondsibility.

[hypnotoad72]

Because too many people have watched the new "Torchwood" and "Doctor Who" shows and dared to criticize them?

In seriousness, the media and what it says set the stage. If you think the world is going down the toilet, some would want to escape it too. Listen to the songs, watch the TV and movies, read the articles - see what the media is saying. People WILL believe it. And, if we''re to be a proper society, we need some changes.

My favorite aunt states one should do what makes them in happy in life; one''s talents in a given field WILL make them succeed. My parents state whatever can be done to make money.

The truth is in the middle; for anyone''s life to be fulfilling and prosperous, one has to find what they''re good at and what drives them.

Indeed, the one thing all my relatives have in common: "Live for today". Which is ironic once you add Masturcard(tm) into the equation... live for today, plan for tomorrow, it''s a bit of a pisser if tomorrow never comes... Maybe the 15 year old was a goth-type existentialist, begging to wear a leash. Who knows?

Now ask what''s profitable or "where the market is". Maybe some 15 year olds have inferred/conjectured what might (OR MIGHT NOT) happen in 10~50 years and decided it''s better to end it early. Others may have a chemical imbalance. Some are shy, autistic, or have other forms of PDDs that have handicapped their lives.

YMMV, but the number of potential reasons is longer than what I''d want to respond with.

[nothappyatall]

"said the Internet sites they had frequented may have been influential. "

May have but wasnt, LIFE was the cause- they had enough, dont blame the internet for weak minded peoples actions they would have done eventually, regardless.


"If I could understand why she done it, maybe she could try help save another child," Tina Phillips said.
But Leah''s simply told them she doesn''t know why she tried to take her own life."

Maybe cause she is a moron or mentally ill, it wasnt the internet''s fault it was her own.

[salty1954]

I don''t know what is causing teen suicide in Wales.

In the US, homophobia is one of the main causes of teen suicide.
Gay teens hear their parents voicing hatred against homosexuality and feel intense shame.
Suicide is the number one cause of death for gay teens.

[robbielouise]

At my granddaughters high school in South Carolina, 4 or 5 kids killed themselves. My granddaughter said there was a sucide pact between some kids. I had read that it started in Japan and was on the internet. Which would naturally make it spread around the world.

Kids are also getting high by hanging themselves and stopping the hanging before they pass out. They don''t realize that they may not be able to stop before they pass out and die.

I don''t think parents are to blame. The teen years are years of torture usually only in their minds. They don''t know who they should be and peer pressure is extreme. They also don''t think they have any worth, they hate themselves and can find no reason to live. They don''t understand what they are going thru is happening to everyone. I remember at 15 sitting outside looking to the sky and saying "I don''t belong here, someone please come get me out of this insane place". No one came so I had to adjust to the insanity.

[mennowoman]

Internet chat rooms and forums sites can get pretty mean very quickly. There''s something about talking to a stranger anonymously that makes people say cruel things they would never say face to face. Plus, on the internet, people can pretend to be someone else altogether. Some people I know have dozens of personnas, some of them nice, others vicious. They use the mean personnas to hurt people. In the 6 years I''ve been using chat and forums, I''ve known six or seven people who killed themselves because of repeated vicious attacks from other users. Especially in this world where people already feel lonely and isolated, such attacks can be soul-killing.

[godofredo29]

When you''re male it doesn''t take a lot of thought to come up with reasons for not going on, especially when you''ve got a thirty-three year old single loner as the role model you''re told to emulate.

[andrew_693]

The suicide has to do with the fact that people from small towns don''t have anything to do and find their lives wasting away between church, punishment, expectations and nothing to look forward to except heaven. If they opened more parks, promoted activities and social life instead of siting on their fat arse in the car eating a happy meal they would actually become more happy. Young people should be dancing in the disco with their friends, not home reading the bible or in a chatroom or playing retarded video games. When you are active depression goes away.

[Krazcarl]

menowoman.....I agree blogs and chat rooms have got out of control the sites do 0 policing it''s getting to the point where folks that are afaid run thier months on the blogs cause they feel protected and in the real world of people they know they would be slapped down this blog is being taken over by trolls and insults from little people, chat rooms are a cancer could tell that 5 years ago and left to a great oppertunity to socialize but not safe period. . Years back used to used the local dating line met some OK ladies but turned into a swewer and a com. The internate {I hate to say this} needs outside law eforcement to keep it viable for anything than mail news TV or searching the webb it''s become the home turff of preditors men and women...

[speakinup]

"When you''re male it doesn''t take a lot of thought to come up with reasons for not going on, especially when you''''ve got a thirty-three year old single loner as the role model you''''re told to emulate.
Posted by godofredo29

Why just males ? I think all kids at this age are very impressionable, and open to suggestions that life isn''t all it is cracked up to be.

But 7 in a small radius is quite high in the stats.

Unfortunately, there will always be folks that have ill will on their minds for others.

[Markus]

If a parent or parents aren''t talking to their young ones about what they are thinking and feeling day to day, they aren''t caring about them.Think about it.If someone doesn''t care about your feelings and thoughts,they don''t care about you.

Sincerely,

[southdakota7]

The cause of suicide is practioners of telepathy %u2014 telepathists. All the leaders from the British Isles and everywhere else for that matter telepath that they want rockers telepathing go to hell to good people. Some people get mentally ill and kill themselves to end the misery. It''s a senseless, awful practice.

[shanev137]

Sometimes things happen that can''t be explained.

[Markus]

METHINKST I BEEN TELEPATHED. IF IT IS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME THEN I MUST POSE THE QUESTION....WHO DO YOU THINK I THINK I AM. IF YOU FIND OUT, YOU MUST LET ME KNOW IMMEDIATELY!!!!!

There! This makes about the same amount of sense as the post about telepathics. Don''t you think?

1/2 Sincerely

[bigmojobone]

good posts Curse914

[bigmojobone]

to crzmeat: I read your posts & rants almost daily,, sometimes I agree & sometimes our opinions differ. I hope you were just trying to raise some stink by saying the internet needs ''external policing'' . kind of contridicts other posts I have seen by you.

[j-whitman]

Welsh suicides linked to the internet ??? ---- They''ve probably been taking these Bush lovers here serious.

[southdakota7]

MIKETNT303 first post said that these childrens'' parents did not care about their children, and that is why they committed suicide.
MIKETNT303 second post said my comment on the subject was the stupidest thing he had ever heard. Maybe MIKE should read his own posting.
MIKETNT303 obviously went to telepathy class where he erroneously learned that lying is strong. Lying only works on idiots. People who lie are idiots. Lies in telepathy hurt idiots, and the only idiots are liars. Does this post on telepathy make any sense? MIKETNT303 obviously likes telepathing go to hell to good people and likes rockers who telepath go to hell to good people. He likes to keep it a secret by denying that telepathy exists.
This message to MIKE: There is more power in a *** pump than your cruddy posts.

[jeff-fla]

The parent is ultimately culpable in the behavior of their children no matter the outside influences. It is the parent who decided to bring another human being into this world. I do not want to have live in a society where all the sharp corners on objects are padded because Mommy and Daddy are unwilling or unable to raze children who are not social retards.

Posted by curse914 at 12:46 PM : Jan 26, 2008


curse914

I read one post, that says we need to porovide simple outlets for our kids as a socitity, right after you say the parents are all at fault.

You are right about the outlets. The kids really need parks and safe places to hang out and play.

You are wrong about parents and suicide. I lost my 19 year old son to this illness. Yes it is an illness. The real problem we have is lack of openness and education on this subject. I have meet many parents since this has happened. Most of them seem to be wonderful people. None of us had a clue, until it happened. Then after talking to each other, we find so many common traits in our kids behaviors. Just to learn that there are program (very few) that could have saved most of our kids. We need to TALK about this, we need to EDUCATE teacher, parents, and friends what to look for. We need more mental heath people who are funded by the government, so our kids can get the help they need. More kindness less bombs.

[mennowoman]

andrew_693 wrote: "The suicide has to do with the fact that people from small towns don''''t have anything to do and find their lives wasting away between church, punishment, expectations and nothing to look forward to except heaven."

What an interesting, and highly fanciful, impression you have of small towns. I''ve lived in NYC and I''ve lived in small towns in the midwest, and kids are just as active in the small towns as they are the big cities. It''s not the happy meal that''s causing suicides, it''s desparation and unhappiness. By the way, Wales is not in the US. Or did you really not know that?

[shanev137]

If you''ve never been there, you really don''t have anything to add to the discussion. And no, the internet is not the problem...in fact, it''s part of the solution and a means to help these people.

Some people lack the capacity to control their thoughts and emotions, be it from mental illness or drug use or whatever. Suicidal thoughts can become so powerful they will block out all sanity, reason and hope. Just because people have the thoughts doesn''t mean they are going to act on them. In fact most people don''t commit the act because the thought and urge passes over time.

Certain people are just predisposed to suicidal thoughts throughout different times of their lives, and some people aren''t. It does not make them better or worse than anyone else. The important thing to remember is that they are just thoughts that will eventually go away over time.

In most societies, religions, and families the topic is extremely shameful and taboo which is why most people who have the thoughts and feelings never talk about them. Finding a strong, non-judgmental and trustworthy person or group to talk about it with is the best way to deal with it.

[mattie_r]

some think about others committing suicide and they dont understand and it leads to them doing it

[iceman_1960]

It"s Al Gore"s fault.

Save the Wales.

Ban the Internet.

[iceman_1960]

"A neighbor, Andrew Grzywaczewski helped save Leah"s life by cutting the cord tied around her neck as her stepfather held her off the ground."

Later she tried to send him a thank you note, but became suicidally depressed trying to spell his last name.

[bigwhitewall]

shanev 137, you are right in that people do need a place to talk about things and express themselves and at bigwhitewall.com we are providing just that. The first step for people in need - an anonymous place where they can engage with a group of supportive people to talk about what''s on their mind. The internet can help and not just hinder.

[bigwhitewall]

shanev 137, you are right in that people do need a place to talk about things and express themselves and at bigwhitewall.com we are providing just that. The first step for people in need - an anonymous place where they can engage with a group of supportive people to talk about what''s on their mind. The internet can help and not just hinder.

[bigwhitewall]

shanev 137, you are right in that people do need a place to talk about things and express themselves and at bigwhitewall.com we are providing just that. The first step for people in need - an anonymous place where they can engage with a group of supportive people to talk about what''s on their mind. The internet can help and not just hinder.