Internet Safety News
A Caring Chatroom
by Anne Collier
Parents don't often get a positive view of online chat, but the BBC ran a story this month about a suicide attempt in Bruges, Belgium, that was foiled by participants in a chatroom. "A 34-year-old man was found unconscious but still alive in his house in Bruges after concerned fellow surfers informed police." Apparently the man's fellow chatters were alerted to his mental state when he confided that he could no longer cope with his loneliness and asked for information on "how many pills to take to commit suicide." The BBC quotes a University of Bath psychologist in saying that people, particularly men, can be a lot more honest in a chatroom, where because they're anonymous they feel they won't be judged.1
1"Praise for 'Caring' Chatroom Community." BBC. March 22, 2002, http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1883000/1883939.stm.
Anne Collier is editor of the SafeKids/NetFamilyNewsletter and president of NetFamilyNews.org, a nonprofit news service for parents and teachers of online kids.
