UNITED PRESS INT. — Sep 1 — Researchers at USF plan to conduct a study on the psychosocial effects of Internet social networks on youth. Suicide is the third most common cause of death among those 15 to 24. The team hopes that understanding how young people communicate about suicide online could help build prevention initiatives. FULL ARTICLE @ PHYSORG
Mark Brooks: …and hopefully if social networks contribute or allay kids motivation to commit suicide. I’ll contact them and see if I can get more info on this study.
Thanks Mark. I’d like to hear more about this study. It would be interesting to see the range of personality types which use social networks. We know that some people’s preferred communication style is text (email, chat, etc.) rather than in-person or even phone discussion. Categorization along these lines may allow for improved intervention strategies – ones that specifically target people who are less likley to ‘voice’ the anxiety they’re feeling.
As an aside, I wonder how USF will deal with the data protection issue.
There is definitely a need for suicide prevention and I say kudos!
Our family (mom, dad, and 3 daughters) play Final Fantasy XI online together. A linkshell is something like a chat room, that you can invite friends to. After playing the game, and trying out a few linkshells, we decided that there was too much swearing and talk about sex in many of the linkshells and that we would start our own.
We now have a linkshell with over 50 regulars and the rules are clear, no swearing and inappropriate talk. Only a handful of members are Christian, but these kids stay in our linkshell. They call me mom.
They wish their parents would play with them online! Many feel their parents hate them and think they’re worthless. Why don’t parents get involved in their kid’s activities. You’ve heard the old story about tossing the ball with your son. Well, this is a new age and some kids aren’t into baseball and sports, but they’re into video games. We have always played video games with our kids, watched cartoons, done things with them.
But these kids tell us their parents do nothing with them. I asked them if their parents wanted to play with them in the game, would they like it or not like it. 100% of these kids say they would love if their parents played with them! Why don’t they? Parents! Where are you! Take an interest in your kids’ interests!
Sadly, we had a member who always talked about suicide. We would talk with him, try to discourage him, encourage him that he was not worthless. Encourage him to talk to his parents about his feelings or talk to another adult. We even prayed with him. He hasn’t been back in a long time. I hope he’s okay. (We don’t know personal info about these kids so can’t just call their house, etc.)
We hope our linkshell is a safe place for these kids. They are fun! They are helpful! They help others in the game. They have goals and dreams for their lives. They so love having adults like us to talk to and encourage them! Online gaming is a great place to get away from the kids who make fun of them because they may not have the desirable outward appearance that Hollywood and commercials promote. Man looks on the outward appearance and God looks on the heart. These kids all have heart.
Some come in and struggle with not swearing at first, but then they get it. They could easily go to the thousands of other linkshells, but they remain in ours. They say their home is full of yelling and swearing and it’s nice to get away from it. Parents you have great kids! Tell them! Love them! Spend time with them! It breaks my heart that the only place some of these kids feel loved and wanted is in a game.
It’s no wonder pedofiles have so much luck with kids. Parents if you want to protect your kids from pedofiles, then become involved with them, let them know they have your love.
Nannette Thacker
aka: Moondust, Unicorn, JadeRae Linkshell
http:/www.ffximog.com