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Shivli Tyagi / TNN / Apr 10, 2006, 20:03 IST

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Internet suicide pacts have taken on a cult status in Japan, with an increasing number of youngsters resorting to them.

Internet suicide pacts have taken on a cult status in Japan, with an increasing number of youngsters resorting to them.
A recent report about a mass cyber suicide pact in Japan by seven youngsters has sent shock waves around the world. It has yet again raised questions about the possible misuse of internet chat sites and ways to impose some curbs.
Called the 'free world', there are numerous sites which talk about death, including ways and means of dying.And they even lead you to obscure chat rooms where you can meet like-minded friends, so that you can discuss your innermost feelings and thoughts including those about suicide, without any fear.
Says Harsh Prasad, an avid internet user, "Blogs or online diaries are the perfect way for depressed people to speak about their problems to complete strangers and get a sympathy wave."

The same 'anonymity' of the medium which was considered a boon, is proving to be a huge headache too. "There is no control or any way of stopping people with such motives in mind.
Internet suicide pacts are easy to form under such circumstances. These surfers find like minded people across the globe without giving out their real identities," says Anand Sen, a 25-year-old blogger.
According to student counsellors and psychologists, there has been an increase in the number of youngsters diagnosed with depression over the years.

Though forming cyber suicide pacts here is still not that known, there is a growing concern about it. Anju Sheth of SAATH, an NGO dealing with the prevention of suicide among youngsters says, "With an increasing number of youngsters using internet, this has become a growing concern for us.
We need to find ways to prevent such things from happening, apart from equipping ourselves to deal with these cases if and when they happen."
But it is bound to be an uphill task she feels. "The anonymity associated with internet does make things difficult for us. It is easier to talk a youngster out of such thoughts if we are face to face. With the internet we will not be able to do that," she adds.
While factors like increasing competition and stress have compelled many youngsters to resort to such measures, 'internet has simply made things easier'.
"Unlike the suicide pacts which we heard of earlier, which were made by older people who knew each other well, internet suicide pacts are made by youngsters who are not known to each other and may be from across the globe.
The sites and chat rooms that these people log on too are very disturbing and it is easy for anyone with such a tendency to log on to them," says psychologist Vishwamohan Thakur.
shivli.tyagi@timesgroup.com

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