Copycat death cult rips apart town as SEVEN teenagers commit suicide:
I ride the American press constantly for shoddy journalism. It could be worse. It could be the British press. No offense to Brits but outside of the BBC you have some of the worst in media. Take for example this article from This Is London.
7 teens who were connected to each other in one way or another. have committed suicide in the span of a year. The article deemed them a suicide cult. Personally I think that’s insulting to their memories. While these events are indeed tragic it does not make a suicide cult. Heaven’s Gate was a suicide cult.
Anyway the reason I bring any of this up is because like most teens some of them had social networking sites. In this instance it was the social site that is most popular on the UK, Bebo. A quote from the article should really bring it home for any parent with a teen.
“The problem is they do not know how to speak about serious issues like this.
“They can speak to each other on the computer but do not know how to express their emotions in other ways.
“Thomas would spend about three hours a night on the computer, talking to his friends.
“The thing is that most parents don’t understand what they are doing or what they are talking about.
“He did go on Bebo and apparently he had a page on there. He must have discussed his other friends dying on there because it had upset him.
“Like most parents, I have no idea how to get on these sites or what other kids are talking about.
“But I would warn other parents to beware and to keep a close eye on their children.
If you don’t know how to check up on your kid’s MySpace, Facebook, or whatever educate yourself. Take the time to learn it. Ask somebody who does know about these things to teach you. It’s not really that hard. It just takes some changes in habit. Also forget about the guilt you may feel because you’re ‘checking up on them’. Damn right you’re checking up on them. These kids need help and protection and as a parent you should be the first line of defense.
My thought and prayers go out to the friends and families of the victims.
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I have bebo, and I wouldn’t be part of a suicide pact. It was their choice, and they obviously thought they had no way out.
i had bebo but when i heard about it i deleted it. i think its safer now then later.
i think that bebo is an apporiate webstie to use to socialise with your friends
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im sorry, but thats just stupid.
just because you have bebo doesnt mean you’re part of a suicide cult and are going to kill yrself.
think about the billions of people that use bebo-and think about the 7-10 people that have killed themselves?
i think people (esp journalists!) need to get their facts straight before they go around accusing random websites of condoning suicide.