Some doctors did a study of the type of websites that come up when one enters suicide related queries in online search engines. The results were interesting – most of the sites are pro-suicide and many of them offer detailed prescriptions on how to commit the act.
While I strongly believe in an unalienable right to commit suicide, I am not pro-suicide personally – given a choice between apparent hopelessness and certain hopelessness, I lean towards the former. Nevertheless, I do recognise that there exist situations when suicide is indeed the best of all alternatives, and for that reason it is useful to have the knowledge necessary for a quick painless end. For anyone wishing to have such a guide in your shelf, I highly recommend Derek Humphrey’s Final Exit — an excellent book on various methods of self-delivereance.
Typical TOI. What they have failed to mention is that if you search for suicide methods then these sites come up first. A person who is heavily depressed should search for depression or suicidal tendencies or some such thing shouldn’t he? Should search engines become moral guardians of society and change the way they display results?
Another link – Techtree.
Good point.
@aristotlethegeek If you read the original paper, it mentions that it collected the search terms from people who have attempted suicide.
It makes sense, if you are thinking suicide, one of the things you would very likely search for is methods.
Hmmm…. Search engines should not modify their results… The last thing a depressed person needs is even the search engines to fail him/her too! Search engines should be objective and nothing else.
Link: Slashdot discussion
Link to the actual study – Suicide and the internet.
Well most of the terms seem to be related to suicide methods. Only goes to show that the trustworthiness of mainstream media is getting worse by the minute. Passing around their interpretation as fact. Idiots.
As for search engines, yes, no morality based tampering. Never!
obviously you’ve never have a loved one commit sucide….