November 25, 2008
Web Suicide Viewed Live and Reaction Spur a Debate
An insightful piece from The New York Times on Abraham Biggs online suicide, a 19-year-old community college student “egged on” by strangers who, investigators say, encouraged him to swallow the antidepressant pills that eventually killed him.
... According to M. David Rudd, chairman of the psychology department at Texas Tech University, “what he was really doing was expressing his ambivalence about dying and, in an awkward manner, asking for help.
But the virtual nature of the community — distant, largely unaccountable and often seeking entertainment — was equally ambivalent. Hours after Mr. Biggs died, some of the forum users still sounded highly skeptical of the case. Others asked to see the video.
“The anonymous nature of these communities only emboldens the meanness or callousness of the people on these sites,” Mr. Cole of the University of Southern California said. “Rarely does it bring out greater compassion or consideration.”
Related:
-- 19-year-old Commits Suicide on Justin.tv
-- Web suicide watchers tough to prosecute
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