As I was surfing the internet, I stumbled upon this article: http://www.newsweek.com/id/117749. It was the top story on Newsweek. Though not the prevailing message of the article, there was a definite underlying message about the "glamorization" of suicide and its victims.
Some highlights:
Since the start of 2007, a total of 17 young people in and around the played-out South Wales coal town--most of them teenagers--have killed themselves by hanging.
Each new suicide has inspired another memorial page on popular social-networking Web sites like Bebo. Natasha Randall, 17, posted a cheery tribute on Liam Clarke's memorial page on Jan. 15: "RIP Clarky boy!! gonna miss ya! Always remember the gd times!" Two days later she hanged herself.
The Internet is a recurring theme in the Bridgend hangings. Most and possibly all of the victims were members of the Bebo networking site, and many of them posted messages on the public memorial pages of those who preceded them in suicide.
Others in the prevention field agree that suicide can spread like a virus over the Internet. "These social-networking sites, especially ones that deal with young people, have a responsibility to police their sites that they're not always fulfilling," says Paul Kelly of Papyrus, a teen-suicide prevention group in the United Kingdom. "There is a danger of glorifying young people who have taken their own lives."
Still, there are Internet operators who take such fears seriously. The obituary Web site GoneTooSoon.co.uk removed all tributes to the Bridgend victims last week, replacing them with its apologies and an explanation. The site's founder, Terry George, says he wants to avoid any possibility of glamorizing the deaths. "If you commit suicide in the hope you'll be well-known afterwards, then it won't happen with us," he says. "We won't allow it. Something has to be done to stop these people taking their own lives." Bebo's approach has been less dogmatic. As recently as last Wednesday, Feb. 27, the site included memorial pages for Nathaniel Pritchard and Jenna Parry, as well as a group page called Bridgend Deaths with hundreds of members, most of them young people. Their commentary ranged from the sentimental ("Hope you're all happy up there") to the crude.
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A shocking array of resources for would-be suicides is readily available on the Web. Some sites promote euthanasia for the elderly or terminally ill, while others are explicitly aimed at troubled young people. One such site, registered to an address in Amsterdam, hosts a discussion on the most effective way for a minor to commit suicide, with posts ranging from crude and humorous to instructive and practical. The site's moderator, who portrays himself as a defender of "freedom of speech on the subject of suicide," nevertheless admits he has no qualifications, medical or otherwise, for providing advice to would-be suicides. "I don't think 'psychological professionals' are the only ones who should deal with the subject," he told NEWSWEEK via e-mail.
As you can see, our reactions to suicide can CLEARLY influence others, no matter how well-intended those actions are. It's great to remember the best in people once they have passed, but we have to be especially careful not to glamorize suicide.
I myself have witnessed the outpourings of support at my own school following suicides: we wear homemade t-shirts, create memorial websites, have vigils, create Facebook/MySpace memorial groups, etc. We try to prove the decedent wrong: they were loved and will be missed.
However, these actions can indeed be dangerous. People who are depressed and/or suicidal want the same reassurance, that they are loved and will be missed. Seeing that a person who has committed suicide has gained that reassurance, they may consider following in his or her footsteps. It is irrational, but I am sure that many of us have been irrational when lost in our mental ills.
I have tried to contact experts regarding the best way to memorialize suicide victims without glamorizing their actions, but they, too, are unsure of how to react in the "Internet Age." Here are some media guidelines for reporting suicides that may be helpful in planning memorials: http://www.sprc.org/library/sreporting.pdf.
I hope to have more on this issue in the future!