Bridgend suicides

[Suzi]

Anyone got any views on this appalling situation?

[johns]

According to the news I caught on TV the other day, the teenage suicide rate in the Bridgend area is no worse than areas of a similar population size in the UK.

Still very sad though, but I think that as always, the media has latched onto something and made it seem worse than it is.

[Mike Covell]

All of em are dead,

All committed suicide,

All use networking sites,

And there is no link!!!!

Anyone looked at chat logs, i know myspace and windows live have instant messaging, perhaps they used this method to comunicate!!

My heart goes out to the parents, anf families of these poor kids.

The weirdest aspect is that these kids seem happy and loving life on there profiles, surely if one would be depressed they would write something or find some way of communicating!!

[DarkPassenger]

Come on, we all know what caused this spree of trasgedies, the same thing that causes all teen violence

video games.

http://kotaku.com/344462/more-mass-effect-political-dickery

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/201591/nyc_enraged_over_grand_theft_auto_iv.html

Did you know in Grand Theft Auto you can sell p*rn to children? SICK! And because I read it on the internet, it must be true.

[Mike Covell]

I have all the GTA games, from 1, 2, London, 3, Vice City, San Andreas, Liberty City Stories and Vice City Stories and i have completed them all, and done so without selling a porn mag to kids!!

These games advocate cop killing from the first installment which was released when i was a young kid, but never have i shot a police officer.

Mind you i didn't have a gun back then.......Im kiddin

[Suzi]

True Mike I cant deny the part that My Space facebook etc play in these cases....cyber bullying isn't pretty at the best of times but you have to admit the media haven't helped here (Caught a glimpse of the front page of The Sun today whilst out).....truly shocking!

[Mike Covell]

This news story almost slipped under the radar, perhaps there is some sort of cover up at play.

The headline says it all,

Web Suicide Predator Discovered.

here is the story, I wonder if this predator has anything to do with the deaths???

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/berkshire/7257160.stm

Mike

[detective abberline]

Teenage suicides

Hi
I don't know about Bridgend. i live on the other side of the world but i can tell you that my local and regional area have had a spate of teenage suicides over the last few months. it is very disturbing and i agree that these games the kids play must play a part in it.

You are not the only ones.

Bye

[Mike Covell]

I remember some years ago kids having seizures over some kids television show, possibly "Pokemon".

Then there were several reports of the Bush Administration using subliminal messages in his initial electoral campaign.

Add to that the kinda messages in music usually listened to by kids, Grunge, Rock, Metal, Rap etc.

Its no wonder our children are doing such awful things.

I feel sorry for the ones left behind, parents, siblings and friends.

Mike

[DarkPassenger]

I know a ton of people on sites who would blame the Jews. Idiots.

[Mr Poster]

Let me see............

Young people........check.

Usual peer pressures.............check

Society where they will probably never amount to anything they see as important...............check

A maelstrom of teenage hormones..............check.

developong sexualities.................check.

Insane materialistic pressures of the consumer society we live in.............check.

Readily available drink and drugs..................check.

And therefore this suicide blackspot (which actually isnt), defined by the same media that generated many of the intolerable pressures youngesters are under these days, must be the result of video game violence and shadowy "suicide predators" . Of course!

The saddest thing about this is that the media is making so much money out of it and the rest of us are swinging towards validating that money-making by appearing to swallow the rubbish printed.

Must be really comforting for the parents to know that their childs death is at least serving the tabloids well.

p

[Mike Covell]

I totally agree, I don't buy any newspapers because of the sensationalism and spin that is put on everything.

Tonight the Samaritans are launching a campaign in Bridgend,
heres the link,

http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1306553,00.html

Lets hope this is the end, although I really cannot see it.

Mike

[Ruby]

3 page article in todays Telegraph on this sad subject.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/02/23/nbridgend123.xml

[Mike Covell]

Thanks Ruby, thats an intresting article.

I hope they get it sorted and put a stop to these acts.

Mike

[Sam Flynn]

3 page article in todays Telegraph on this sad subject.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...ridgend123.xml

Thanks for posting that, Ruby.

Almost twice the number of teenage suicides in the Bridgend area in the past year than in the previous six years combined. Whilst these incidents may not be linked, this seems to be a definite "blip" by any standards. It would seem to kibosh the idea that there's nothing particularly "unusual" in all this.