Indian Girls suicide due to TV black hole theory

[Fluoxetine]

*

A teenage girl in India has killed herself after fearing the Big Bang experiment in Switzerland may cause the world to end.

Local Indian authorities said the 16-year-old girl from Madhya Pradesh drank pesticide and was rushed to the hospital but died later.

The girl, named Chayya, killed herself after watching doomsday predictions made on Indian news programmes, her father said.

"In the past two days, Chayya had asked me and other relatives about the world coming to an end on September 10," he told local television in India.

"We tried to divert her attention and told her she should not worry about such things, but to no avail."

http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/newshome/5007823

I wondered how long it would take before something like this would happen. 1 day. So much for reasoning in the media.

[Clair de la Lune]

Whoa..that's really sad, and a little scary.

[Bettie]

There's Darwinism at work for you.

[Clair de la Lune]

Yeah, I guess that one's getting added to the Award's List, huh?:weirdsmil (Darwin Awards)

[Xander67]

That is horrible...

[LostSheep]

I have to say, I'm hardly surprised, with all the 'jocular' stories in the media from journalists, with, of course, no knowledge whatsoever of the topic, who always put some 'amusing' little coda like "BUT.... scientists are warning that it could do something immensely dramatic (but highly implausible, but we won't mention that bit)". Sadly, the principle of freedom of the press is very rarely used responsibly now.

[Bettie]

I see your point, Sheep, but surely personal responsibility has to play a part, too?
Yes, the media need a good bitchslapping, but I think the onus is on the individual to educate themselves. If you hear a news report that the world may end, surely the smart thing to do is to research what is happening, not immediately run off and top yourself?

[TygerTyger]

Unfortunately I can relate to this story, though not in the conclusion.

Both my 10 year old son and his friend were aware of the black hole story. His friend suffered an anxiety attack and had to go home from a table tennis training session.

These are children being told by the media that there's a chance that the world may be destroyed by a black hole. They have imaginations and, at that age, the concept that the world might end may be very new to them. It may just be a bit of fun for the media, and may be only stupid adults would believe the story, but for children these things can be frighteningly real.

I talked to my son and his friend and explained, as simply as I could, that the black hole story was so unlikely to happen that we had a better chance of winning the lottery, that seemed to give it a bit of persepctive for them. As it happens we neither disappeared into a black hole nor won the lottery!

Perhaps we should remember that children see things differently to us, they lack our world weary cynicism for one!

[Clair de la Lune]

That was bad of me to say that, I was just clarifying Bettie's comment...but I shouldn't have said it at all in retrospect.

Sorry it was in poor taste.

I really shouldn't have said it.

[LostSheep]

I see your point, Sheep, but surely personal responsibility has to play a part, too?
Yes, the media need a good bitchslapping, but I think the onus is on the individual to educate themselves. If you hear a news report that the world may end, surely the smart thing to do is to research what is happening, not immediately run off and top yourself?

Would the average person in the street be expected to know all about super massive black holes without relying on the media to tell them? Surely anyone who isn't a scientist would have to rely on the media for information?

[Bettie]

Perhaps we should remember that children see things differently to us, they lack our world weary cynicism for one!


You're right, I can see how it would affect children negatively, which is why I think the media DOES have a lot to answer for. Ten years old, certainly, could be traumatised by something like that. But this girl in India was sixteen, hardly a little kid. I would've thought a sixteen year old would have been capable of a higher level of reasoning than a small child would.

[TygerTyger]

Would the average person in the street be expected to know all about super massive black holes without relying on the media to tell them? Surely anyone who isn't a scientist would have to rely on the media for information?

And that includes children who think that adults have all the answers...until they realise it's the adults putting out this rubbish of course!

What about the girl's parents by the way, didn't they think to ease her anxiety?

[Bettie]

Would the average person in the street be expected to know all about super massive black holes without relying on the media to tell them? Surely anyone who isn't a scientist would have to rely on the media for information?

Not necessarily. The vast majority of people are capable of using the internet, for example a simple trawl though Google gives loads of pages that explain why the world wasn't going to end yesterday. If you rely on the media to educate you, then you're bound to get a skewed view of reality. Like I said, it's all about personal responsibility. If you can't use the internet, what's to stop you going to the library and reading an ACTUAL book in order to educate yourself further? There are plenty of ways to find out more about anything, you just have to motivated to get up off your arse and go find out... :)

[Fluoxetine]

Her death was caused by media. It is how things are today. We believe things we are told and take it for face value, until this happens. Maybe we should give the media a stern warning about the power they have over us.

Which reminds me of this which is so true in this case:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-MfC7pw1AM

[LostSheep]

Not necessarily. The vast majority of people are capable of using the internet, for example a simple trawl though Google gives loads of pages that explain why the world wasn't going to end yesterday. If you rely on the media to educate you, then you're bound to get a skewed view of reality. Like I said, it's all about personal responsibility. If you can't use the internet, what's to stop you going to the library and reading an ACTUAL book in order to educate yourself further? There are plenty of ways to find out more about anything, you just have to motivated to get up off your arse and go find out...
Yes, but you could also find a vast number of news stories, some seemingly unsensational and respectable, saying things like "Scientists say that it is very irresponsible..." "Scientists say that it could ..." "But Scientists say that...." Anyone can insert the word 'scientist' and lend an air of credibility to something.

[Fluoxetine]

And that includes children who think that adults have all the answers...until they realise it's the adults putting out this rubbish of course!

What about the girl's parents by the way, didn't they think to ease her anxiety?

They tried, but she had it in her head that it will be the end.

[TygerTyger]

They tried, but she had it in her head that it will be the end.

Then that is sad indeed!

[TygerTyger]

I would've thought a sixteen year old would have been capable of a higher level of reasoning than a small child would.

Come down to where I live Bettie and I'll show you some examples of 16 year olds that might make you question the theory of evolution!

Joking apart, I agree with you in principal, but there will always be someone who reacts irrationally to such stories.

I agree with other posters, however, that some sections of the media need to consider what they do before they do it - not that public safety would ever be a big concern of theirs!

[Wolf O Volos]

All very reminescent of "War of the Worlds" as presented by Welles.

And Tyger, I agree with what you said entirely. Children, even some teens who have been relatively sheltered, have a hard enough time being able to discern reality from the crap they see on Television. And the media, for all of its tongue in cheek reporting, in order to get "better ratings" often times forgets that children are watching as well.

Sad really. But then, I have to also agree with the idea that her parents probably SHOULD have done more to belay her fears. When a child is endangered, and is thinking somewhat irrational thoughts, it is up to the parents to do something to prevent those thoughts from turning into something dramatic and harmful.

[Wolf O Volos]

I agree with other posters, however, that some sections of the media need to consider what they do before they do it - not that public safety would ever be a big concern of theirs!

This in particular:
Come now Tyger... They dont really worry about public welfare, because when something BAD happens, they can run out with cameras and microphones handy, to make NEWS out of it, right?

[LostSheep]

All very reminescent of "War of the Worlds" as presented by Welles.

And Tyger, I agree with what you said entirely. Children, even some teens who have been relatively sheltered, have a hard enough time being able to discern reality from the crap they see on Television. And the media, for all of its tongue in cheek reporting, in order to get "better ratings" often times forgets that children are watching as well.



yes, that's the thing. The media often do do these things in a tongue in cheek way ("And finally *twinkle at camera*"), but that, itself, is irresponsible, I think, as a lot of people, and they needn't necessarily be not the brightest, do put trust in what they see or hear, and even if it is a tongue-in-cheek "and finally" story, there will be a lot of people who'll think, well, there must be some grain of truth in it. A lot of people just aren't as post-modernly ironic as the media are.

[Caitlin.ann]

Eh..the media didn't FORCE her to kill herself. Certainly we all heard this story yet here we stand/sit..whatever. No one is to blame but the one who took their life.

[TygerTyger]

Eh..the media didn't FORCE her to kill herself. Certainly we all heard this story yet here we stand/sit..whatever. No one is to blame but the one who took their life.

Not quite true, there is the concept of responsibility and even the media occasionally subscribe to it!

[~Belladonna~]

Wow! Sad and a little strange.

[Fluoxetine]

Eh..the media didn't FORCE her to kill herself. Certainly we all heard this story yet here we stand/sit..whatever. No one is to blame but the one who took their life.

So if you crashed your wonderful car into a wall, it is the brakes fault for not working the way it should? Yes people are responsible for their actions but to lay the blame on a dead 16 year old is like trying to shut the barn door after the horses have run off.

She became despondent at the idea of it. The media played a major part in the outcome. How did she hear of it if it was not the media? A cult like mentality that saw a comet in the sky and decide to top themselves to join it? Doubt it. It is down to the media who portrayed the ideal and made out that the world will end. So rather than get torn apart by fierce magnetic distortions and the world breaking up she did what she thought was right and save herself that "fate".

We are all looking at this from "silly cow topped herself:lol: stupid or what?" angle. The world did not turn into a black hole. It stayed the same way. But to view it in the way of "silly girl lol " is a bit crass. Basically in a nutshell her death has caused pain and suffering and her family tried to stop that from happening. It is a sad story case form what the media put out and they just wash it all away. The "Oh dear a death has happened, but look a kitten!" play is going on. The news page commends the scientists and only gives a brief eye on what happened. I took out the bits regarding the success of the CERN project and placed the matter of the girls death in here. A full page and all we get is 4 paragraphs? Maybe the media is not so glad to report it, so they are placing kittens in front to make us all feel better.

Everyone, please stroke the kittens. Aren't they cute. Don't mind the dead girl, she is not important enough to be concerned about.

[aranarose]

My 10-year-old son thought it would be cool if the world ended, but was disappointed that that would mean he would lose all opportunity to rule the world... Yes... I have a warped kid....

We can blame the media all we want, but what about the family of this girl? Seriously now. If a girl is so deeply disturbed as to commit suicide, there are other issues going on. And I know it seems harsh and callus, but does the world really need people who are going to react so rashly to something so silly?

And what the hell is the point of committing suicide? If the world is going to end, it ain't gonna matter!

[LostSheep]

We can blame the media all we want, but what about the family of this girl? Seriously now. If a girl is so deeply disturbed as to commit suicide, there are other issues going on. And I know it seems harsh and callus, but does the world really need people who are going to react so rashly to something so silly?

The world might not have needed her. Some individual, however, might have done.

[orangeconey]

Well...
When the towers were bombed in 2001, I and most of my friends were 15/16 years old. Of course, everyone was in a state of shock and heightened worry cause we had never experienced a disaster such as that in our lifetimes. Some of us had lost people we knew. (I live about 45 mins south of the city and we have some big commuter towns nearby)
Nobody killed themselves.
All we heard on the news for the first couple of weeks, especially right after, was how they were going to come back and finish the job. Fort Monmouth was gonna go up in flames. They were planning on hitting Earle(naval base with LOTS o' explosives). It would take out two counties, at least.
The media was telling us that we were going to die and we couldn't tell when. We had to choose not to listen.
Therefore, I can't blame the media for this girl's death. Sure, they're a nasty lot of jackals. That's their job, though, how they make money-on sensationalism. Sometimes people just can't handle life and its curveballs, and while I really feel bad for everyone who was affected by this case and others, perhaps she really didn't want to live any longer and if it wasn't this story, it would be the next one that would do it.
I honestly believe sixteen is an age of personal accountability....at least in major issues like this, and to place most of the blame on outside sources is a bit like avoiding said personal responsibility and that makes me feel uneasy...

[Fluoxetine]

What you are looking at is USA media compared to Asian media. The two are different in reporting for two different points of the world.

she listened to what was said. Her family told her not to worry. But she went ahead due to the fear of the "what if!" theory. The what if is a very big way of assuming. No one said before 9/11 what if, that just happened. This was known to happen. It was talked about for years, decades even. The what if grew and became it's own monster. This was not a terror attack it was pure thoughts of we could all die a slow painful death. That is the difference, not the "oh well it's her fault".

I could say that about 9/11 and you would all be annoyed. At least you would be annoyed and saddened enough to feel the same way her family is right now.

[Fluoxetine]

And just for perspective view regarding media and effects, Ghostwatch in the early 90's caused a suicide as well. Even though it was a drama it caused a death. Maybe like some of the posts in this thread have tried to attribute it to the girl, media is a very hortent poltergeist that pervades our room and lives to a point it is now symbiotic in nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghostwatch

[orangeconey]

It was "what if" for us. What if they come after us next? Maybe it was only a week or so, but it was still hyped-up and pretty scary. Maybe a terrorist attack is old-hat to some, but it was all new for us then.

The ghoskittych link doesn't work :( and nothing comes up on google. I wanted to see...

Just thought I'd throw my perspective in there. :thumbsup:

[Caitlin.ann]

So if you crashed your wonderful car into a wall, it is the brakes fault for not working the way it should? Yes people are responsible for their actions but to lay the blame on a dead 16 year old is like trying to shut the barn door after the horses have run off.

How does that analogy remotely relate to the story. She took her life because the world "may" end..which wasn't even true at all. Brakes and driving have nothing to do with this. No one forced her to take her life, she did it herself. The media is certainly not to blame.


She became despondent at the idea of it. The media played a major part in the outcome. How did she hear of it if it was not the media? A cult like mentality that saw a comet in the sky and decide to top themselves to join it? Doubt it. It is down to the media who portrayed the ideal and made out that the world will end. So rather than get torn apart by fierce magnetic distortions and the world breaking up she did what she thought was right and save herself that "fate".

This is like blaming McDonalds for making people obese.

[/QUOTE]

[Caitlin.ann]

What you are looking at is USA media compared to Asian media. The two are different in reporting for two different points of the world.

she listened to what was said. Her family told her not to worry. But she went ahead due to the fear of the "what if!" theory. The what if is a very big way of assuming. No one said before 9/11 what if, that just happened. This was known to happen. It was talked about for years, decades even. The what if grew and became it's own monster. This was not a terror attack it was pure thoughts of we could all die a slow painful death. That is the difference, not the "oh well it's her fault".

I could say that about 9/11 and you would all be annoyed. At least you would be annoyed and saddened enough to feel the same way her family is right now.

I'm lost. What?

[GEBS]

Unfortunately I can relate to this story, though not in the conclusion.

Both my 10 year old son and his friend were aware of the black hole story. His friend suffered an anxiety attack and had to go home from a table tennis training session.

[snip]

Perhaps we should remember that children see things differently to us, they lack our world weary cynicism for one!


I had the same experience with Trey. He was afraid to go to sleep. He was afraid he would "wake up dead". It took me a little while to calm him down. He said "but if it's on the news it has to be true." We had a follow up conversation about that. :uhhuhuh:


In my experience young people from India are not at the same level of "maturity" as those in the US. I worked with several families from India in the past. They were raised differently. I can understand why a girl of 16 in India would have the worries that someone younger here would have. Granted, it's been a few years since I knew those families, but I doubt it has changed that much.

[SphinYote]

And what the hell is the point of committing suicide? If the world is going to end, it ain't gonna matter!

This was what I was thinking. If you think you're going to die, why hasten the process?

And the other thing that occurred to me, are they sure it was a suicide? There are easier ways to go than drinking pesticides....

[DoktorSick]

Oh snap that's messed up about the girl.
My 35 year old brother was kind believing the hype of could destroy
the earth and he's and engineer for christ sakes.
My son heard something on the radio and was kind scared but I explained things to him and even went to the cern website to get more information.
I don't trust the news anyways i believe the daily show and the colbert report before i trust the regular news.

[Fluoxetine]

How does that analogy remotely relate to the story. She took her life because the world "may" end..which wasn't even true at all. Brakes and driving have nothing to do with this. No one forced her to take her life, she did it herself. The media is certainly not to blame.


you have a choice: Press the brake pedal and not crash or carry on and see what happens.

She pressed the brake.

Is that clear enough for you? Or shall I dumb it down more?

[Caitlin.ann]

you have a choice: Press the brake pedal and not crash or carry on and see what happens.

She pressed the brake.

Is that clear enough for you? Or shall I dumb it down more?

As rude and unnecessary as you're being, let me just say that whether or not she "put the brake" on her life, I don't see how this has to do with the media as was insinuated before. As you stated, she chose to end her life of her own volition. It is no one's fault but her own. She is not a victim.

[orangeconey]

you have a choice: Press the brake pedal and not crash or carry on and see what happens.

She pressed the brake.

Is that clear enough for you? Or shall I dumb it down more?

Maybe I'm just "dumb", but I would think that it's a good thing if one presses the brake to not crash....offing yourself is more analogous to the crashing into a wall bit...I think I understand what you are trying to say, she was trying to retain some control over the situation, but...maybe you should have chosen a different analogy.

:whatgives Coney's just a big ol' dummy, y'know...she don't get things too easily. *durrr*

:wtf:

[Philosophia]

I remember on the days following 9/11 that some people, who had a mental illness, committed suicide because they believed they did it.

Do we know if this girl had a mental illness?

[Philosophia]

I remember on the days following 9/11 that some people, who had a mental illness, committed suicide because they believed they did it.

Do we know if this girl had a mental illness?

[Caitlin.ann]

I remember on the days following 9/11 that some people, who had a mental illness, committed suicide because they believed they did it.

Do we know if this girl had a mental illness?

She may very well have..the thought crossed my mind.

Does that still put the media at fault though?

[Philosophia]

She may very well have..the thought crossed my mind.

Does that still put the media at fault though?

I think they should take some of the blame for this but not all of it. The story was blown out of proportion with predictions of death and destruction. I also believe that the parents also shoulder some of the blame as well.

However, the majority of the blame must lay with the girl. Nobody forced her to take her life and, if she was in control, than she knew what she was doing.

[sarabethv]

Her death was caused by media.

No, her death was caused by the pesticide she took.


She became despondent at the idea of it. The media played a major part in the outcome. How did she hear of it if it was not the media?


The media did not pour the pesticide down her throat - therefore, they did NOT play a major part in the OUTCOME, which was her death.

So by your logic the media should keep all news away from us since it might inlfuence someone to kill themselves.

If the media were indeed at fault then thousands of young Indian women would have killed themselves. There was ONE - to blame the media for this is ridiculous.

Oh wait - we can blame Ssnaf on here because she posted that the world was coming to an end "tomorrow." Perhaps that girl accidentally found MW and read that. <sarcasm>

[Fluoxetine]

There is only one story reported. How many more may be out there unreported? By having only one victim does not make a suicidal from what we have read. Maybe some others have gone in similar ways but it is too unimportant to be made into international news.

If news is important then it gets reported. If the news is of a cat up a tree you will not hear about it unless it is a very slow news day.

And according to Physorg website it was pills and not pesticide.
http://www.physorg.com/printnews.php?newsid=140327173

Either way someone died from the doomsday reporting from the media. With enough fear she took her life.

[LostSheep]

So by your logic the media should keep all news away from us since it might inlfuence someone to kill themselves.


Oh no, the media should report news. This wasn't, however, news. It was either uininformed speculation, or a 'tongue in cheek' 'and finally' story, which was regrettably misconstrued as being a true news story. If it was the latter, I don't know if you can really blame them for how any individual might react, but I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't intended as being tongue in cheek, and it was just down to lack of knowledge and the desire for a dramatic headline.

[LostSheep]

Actually, thinking about my first sentence there,
the media should report news.
I think that's the basic problem with the media now, wherever they are. They don't just report news. They always have to speculate, and interpret, and give their opinion. And if they don't know anything about it, they either bring on an "expert", and the audience aren't going to know who this "expert" is, and whether or not they actually know any more about the subject than the audience does, or they just indulge in speculation about it themselves, usually in a semi-jocular way, but, again, not everyone can be expected to know that they are being semi-jocular, can they? If it's in the news, then people do put a lot of trust in it.

[Phoenix Blue]

you have a choice: Press the brake pedal and not crash or carry on and see what happens.

She pressed the brake.

Is that clear enough for you? Or shall I dumb it down more?
How is implying that someone else is an idiot respectful? Think about it.