Hello all, I got questions. *frowns* I知 talking about users claiming to be sick and dying (most of the time from cancer) or of being depressed and about to commit suicide. I知 aware many persons actually have to live through these hardships. I also believe we should encounter more of them online than offline. For some reasons, confidences are sometimes easier to make to anonymous strangers. And some persons with illnesses and disabilities might have an easier time meeting people online (Eliminates transportation problems for exemple). I know there are people really sick, dying or suicidal online. But I知 getting increasingly confident that a sizeable number of users claiming to be dying or suicidal are in fact making it up. I知 also pretty sure that some of these users go as far as actually faking their own death. From observations and deductions. But mostly because I had conversations with three users who claimed to have faked their own death online (I posted about it on message boards and they contacted me). Two of these even sent e-mails supposedly written by family relatives to their online friends and one made a web site about her, as if it had been done by a grieving relative. My imagination and gullibality fooled me many times, but I think ォ virtual death サ is really going on online. I知 having a hard time understanding the motivations behind this. From the confidences I received, I壇 say people do it to ォ try サ death. The internet is often used as an experimentation lab. I知 not talking about a metaphysical experience, more like a social one. People do it to see how their online friends will react (Maybe like gender switchers who wonder how people react to members of the other sex ?...). As if they had an ォ eulogy fantasy サ. *shrugs* I also considered other explanations... There are other questions coming. To conclude, I壇 like to say I hope I did not sound too judgemental or severe toward people who fake their own death. The line between faking and reality is probably very blurred (You致e got to be careful when suicide is involved...). All three persons who talked to me about their fake deaths expressed regrets about it. I think their contacting me was part of some search for forgiveness or something... I dunno... They really didn稚 seem to feel good about it. I will appreciate anything. URLs, hints, replies, whatever. Wooly
I致e been online for a while (between two and ten years).
In the past year, I came across a phenomenon I had never witnessed before. Something new, at least for me. For lack of a better term, I call it ォ virtual death サ. Maybe ォ fake death サ would describe it better. *shrugs*
I知 afraid that no matter how carefully I choose my words, I知 gonna sound more cynical than I actually am. Boogar :P But what the heck, I got to understand this thing.
Here it goes...
Getting attention (claiming to be suicidal is likely to attract some, not necessarily positive).
Getting sympathy.
Revenge.
But none of these really satisfy me :P It痴 probably too complex to have only one explanation anyway, even for each individual.
But all this finally brings me to my first questions *grins shyly*
Do you think ォ virtual death サ is really going on online ?
Can any of you you explain it to me ?
Have any researches on this topic been done, and if so, where can I find the results ?
I知 concerned about users faking their own death, but I知 also intrigued and concerned by the impact this has on their online friends. Especially if they suspect or discover the truth.
Do you know of online ressources that could prove valuable to users who experienced the death of someone they met online ?
And finally, the question I was most afraid to ask...
Can you use the possibility a suicide or death was faked to help a grieving friend ? (That sounds so insensitive, but...) And if so, how ?
Take your time :-)
I wish you all centuries of good health :-)
woolytheracoon@yahoo.com
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