The recent suicides of young people in Wales are a tricky topic to write about. It feels almost an infringement on the rights of the families and friends of the young people.
I don't mean this as a criticism of the media. They were bound to report the fact that something was going on. Whether the press helped make it worse is beyond my ken. The families certainly think so.
The mainstream media has been blaming social media. There have been claims, refuted by the police, that all the young people who have taken their lives had used one of the many forms of social media available. The implication is that they shared their feelings, their depression and that a camaraderie of need led to the taking of their lives.
It is far too early to make a judgement like that. Perhaps we will never really know what happened. There has been speculation that there is an element of the 'herd' mentality about this phenomenon. After all, if we can have tipping points with brands why not with life and death?
For the families, this is a devastating tragedy. They are not interested in anything else right now, although some have found the courage to face the press and ask them to alter their reporting to prevent anymore suicides.
Social media might have played a part in all this. But that misses the point. Social media could also help save a life by connecting someone with others and providing a voice that brings that back from an unimaginable place. Finding something new that we don't quite understand and then blaming it seems to be a very common trait. It is incredibly dangerous.
Violent acts are a characteristic of human behaviour. Many years ago I was arguing with someone who blamed television for violence. I pointed out that the Vikings didn't watch the Sweeney before jumping into their long boats and marauding. She almost hit me for being so facetious, except I really meant it. We are what we are. As we progress as a species we find new ways of doing what we have already done. Remove social media, television or whatever else you want to blame, you will still see the same types of behaviour.
When awful things happen it is vital that we are calm. Rushing to judge, moral panics and the blame game helps no one.
Saturday, 23 February 2008
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3 comments:
The problem is those lives saved are unseen.
Seen consequences are always focused upon whether positive or negative, the full picture is far more complex though (and often unknown)
Despite the media coverage which I agree has at times been intrusive I think Bridgend's young people must have been very close to suicide before the reports. Does anyone know how many knew each other?
As far as I know some of the young people knew each other, others didn't. I agree with both comments about them being close to making that decision and the fact that things are always more complex. I suppose one could make the case that the other acts and the coverage of those acts gave them some sort of permission to folow through with those thoughts. But my comments are based on guess work and nothing more.
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