When Japan was poor, families did more things together out of necessity. But now it?s increasingly all about the individual. This leaves people more isolated and likely to contemplate suicide.
When Japan was poor, families did more things together out of necessity, like sharing a bath or eating together, and the community was much more important, especially in rural communities.
Youngsters find that on Internet chat sites, they can talk about the most intimate of issues with total strangers - including vague notions of wanting to die.
Most of them aren't serious (about killing themselves). But say one chat participant starts suggesting concrete plans... That's when the Internet can encourage suicide.
Unfortunately, the more younger people there are using the Web, the more suicides we're going to see. The Internet has brought a lot of convenience to Japan, but it has brought with it a lot of ills.
Many young people try to kill themselves but can't carry through. But when a group of strangers meet on an Internet suicide site, and someone suggests a specific way to die ... that's the dangerous dynamic behind the recent group suicides.
Japanese see suicide as tragic, yet beautiful or somehow sincere.
Copyright © 2024 Electric Goat Media. All Rights Reserved.