Opinion Piece: Suicide and the Internet

Suicide is a continuous issue that affects thousands, ranking as the second leading cause
of death in the United States. The Internet, a prominent part of our daily lives, and with the vast
amount of content available, it is thought to be a correlating cause to suicide among teenagers.
Thus, the Internet is seen as a provocative resource rather than a preventive one in regards to
suicide or suicide related behavior among teenagers. Suicide chat rooms, cybersuicides, and
cyberbullying, are some of the many negative existences in the Internet that occur more often
than one may think. Therefore, it is important to become aware of this public health concern and
take action. It is in our hands to make an impact in the lives of many, as we come together and
prevent teenage suicide.

A solution being proposed to this unremitting problem, includes advocating and

educating the general public in hopes of awareness and thus prevention of continuous rise in
suicide rates. Even though there is no specific or certain way to educate the public, the idea is to
target various audiences and inform them in different ways. Whether it is to target parents,
teachers, students, or community members, it may all be done in unique ways in order to ensure
the best effect. For instance, all school systems across the country need to implement a policy
where educational and supportive services become available for the students. It is key to begin
these efforts at a young age as it will be used to prevent suicidal occurrences during their teenage
years. That is, the support services or guidance given to the students will show the children that
people are willing to help, but most importantly show them that they are not alone. The idea is to
encourage them to speak out against bullying, be smart online, and spread positivity among each
other. Nevertheless, the teachers should be required to take a specialized training that will ensure
their ability to identify suicidal warning signs expressed among students, in order to be prepared
for any such case presented. Schools across the country should not be the only ones to take
action, these efforts should be occurring throughout communities as well.
Community members, should have suicide preventive programs available at their
fingertips. This could include simple actions such as putting flyers with suicide prevention
hotlines, or as complex as holding workshops or seminars. However, these workshops or
seminars need to be open to the public, and the content may vary as it could be an expert
discussion or even testimonials as long as they get the message across. Nevertheless, these may
also be used to target a specific audience such as parents. Parents are a vital component as they
influence almost every aspect of the childs life as they grow. Hence, it would be beneficial to
not only teach parents the suicide warning signs and preventive methods but also online safety
including social media. Giving parents expert advice and tips regarding suicide prevention, will
encourage the parent to supervise and maybe even regulate the content as well as the time spent
using the Internet and social media. The Internet and social media have infatuated our lives;
however, this does not allow it to be an influencing factor in teenage suicide. It is our
responsibility to take action, all in hopes of saving the lives of many as we prevent suicide rates
from increasing, one life at a time.
 References
Jarosz, A. V. (n.d.). Retrieved May 07, 2017, from
http://www.prb.org/Publications/Articles/2016/suicide-replaces-homicide-second-
leading-cause-death-among-us-teens.aspx
Staff, D. H. (2017, January 16). Teen suicide is real, its among us. Lets talk and act! Retrieved
May 7, 2017, from https://durangoherald.com/articles/128426-teen-suicide-is-real-it-
x2019-s-among-us-let-x2019-s-talk-and-act
Suicide Prevention. (2015, March 10). Retrieved May 7, 2017, from
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/youth_suicide.html
The Doctors. (2016, December 14). Teen Suicide Rates Double?! Retrieved March 26, 2017,
from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2VoIBH1EEoc