Mashable - The Social Media Guide - Latest Comments in Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Name — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:53:44 -0000

This is exactly the point that he was making. Social skills online do not equate to social skills in the "real world." Online communication is not the same as interaction with real people -- email, chatroom, and Twitter "conversations" have no resemblance to the timing and flow of natural interaction. You also learn nothing about tone of voice and body language if communicating online. His other point was that you may be able to "meet a lot more people" but that these relationships rarely develop beyond superficial, because there are no shared experiences like with off-line friendships. When I was a child, someone told me that though you will have many acquaintances throughout your life, you will only have a handful of true friends. This has become even more pronounced now that everyone has hundreds or thousands of "friends" on Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter (etc.) The relationships with these "friends" are simply not as rewarding as true friendships, and often disappear as quickly as they appeared.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

tabish123 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:08:10 -0000

I believe him because it is creating depression among youngsters. I would also like to share this with you http://www.techmahser.com

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

tabish123 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:07:38 -0000

I believe him because it is creating depression among youngsters. I would also like to share this with you http://www.techmahser.com

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

tabish123 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 14:07:07 -0000

I believe him because it is creating depression among youngsters. I would also like to share this with you http://www.techmahser.com

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

roig — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 10:37:34 -0000

Nate,
I agree with you about video games vs. boardgames. The boardgame provides an experience that really brings people together especially if it provokes discussion. Ironically, given the archbishop's negative comments, I am the author of a board game on how popes are elected. My work on the game was about 85% over the Internet (my graphic designer lives 1,000 miles away) and I could not have done it without the Internet. I am proud to say that the game "Vatican" does really engage people in animated face to face discussions about critical issues facing the church. www.vaticanboardgame.com
Roig

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Justin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:58:53 -0000

What a boob!!! Web bullying is no different from any other type of bullying!!! Facebook and Twitter DO NOT cause suicide. Depression, anxiety, and plenty of other psychological disorders are what cause suicide. Each person is responsible for their own social interactions. If one chooses to build friendships only on the web and doesn't ever interact with their web friends in person then my question is are you really friends at all? I interact with people online that I already have known which is really the purpose of facebook and twitter, to keep up with your friends and stay social in today's busy, on the go kind of lifestyle. Welcome to the 21st century grandpa!!!

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Justin — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:57:22 -0000

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

eric stanton corrie — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:25:24 -0000

thank you pope john paul benidict and archbishop vincent nichols for blessing my work as (THE EVOLUTION OF NEW WORLD CHRISTIANITY)
SIGNED pop364sextantgalaxy/blogs/wordpress.com

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

kevin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:58:50 -0000

priest molesting children leads to more suicides than facebook

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

kevin — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 20:58:23 -0000

priest molesting children leads to more suicides than facebook

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Pamela Stansberry — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:55:18 -0000

In regard to facebook, myspace, and texting, as well as other internet forms of community and networking being something to be wary as a cause of collapse of interpersonal relationships and suicidal issues...isn't that completely beside the point?

The problem isn't the internet.

The problem is that in this world parenting is not something that everyone knows how to do effectively. If all children—all people—had the benefit of a loving, emotionally stable parent or guardian to help then develop self-esteem, inherent value, self-respect & respect for others, healthy social abilities and emotional maturity, then there would be no problems anywhere with anyone!

But human beings can only teach what they know. Call that "original sin" or perhaps it should just be acknowledged that it is the nature of ignorance—not being aware or not knowing. We all have ignorance. All of us. We can only just try to move through it & seek truth as we go.

So if a parent doesn't know how to communicate or develop healthy relationships with a child—or they don't think it's important for them to do so, how can the child grow in those essential areas? In my opinion, that's where reliable mentors, community & spiritual leaders, as well as any individual who can shine a little light in the world—are necessary.

The internet has been a blessing, far more than a curse. It has taken power out of the hands of a few who seek their own interests, and dispersed it among the many. It also provides more than one point of view on any subject that might be in question.

This world is made up of people. And if "we people" can reach out to one another to offer what good we can, then perhaps the children who fall in between the cracks might at least have some valuable resources to use for making positive choices in their lives. We all can find the help we need through helping one another. And what better way can we do that than letting "healthy, wise & compassionate words" spread throughout the world. Whatever works.

God bless us all!

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Facebook Developer — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:12:46 -0000

Hey great info indeed. Thanks quite informative

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Facebook Applications — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 07:11:44 -0000

Hey great info indeed. Thanks quite informative

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

roig — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:45:54 -0000

I think the archbishop is entirely wrong and his comments remind me of the book Bowling Alone which saw the decline of traditional forms of interaction (like bowling) as a sign of a decline in the richness of human relationships. Instead, the exact opposite is true, digital means of communication have opened up vast new opportunities for all kinds of rich interaction with individuals all over the planet. They have also enabled millions of web users to make their voices heard and have a profound effect in areas that would have been impossible earlier. We have only to look at the effect of the Internet on the Iranian resistance movement, or the impact of consumer reviews on product design and marketing.

Frankly, as a retired person my level of interaction and my ability to discover others with like interests has never been greater. Far from being "home alone" and isolated I am home with hundreds of others as Internet friends and contacts while seeing and interacting with as many or more real persons as ever.

Roig

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Mark David Gerson — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 10:16:09 -0000

Young gay men and women have been committing suicide for decades due to bullying and cruel harassment by their peers in schools. I don't see any Roman Catholic clerics expressing any concern about that. How compassion and concern that isn't quite so selective, your grace?

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Patty — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:51:40 -0000

The archbishop has a point about social networking but it has nothing to do with the girl who committed suicide. It wasn't lack of real relationships because of social networking that led to this girl's suicide. Her classmates chose to bully her on the internet instead of bullying her in school. Kids are smart. They know that if they bully in school, they will get suspended. They choose the internet because they know that the school won't get involved.

Four years ago, when my daughter was 15, she was bullied on MySpace by a classmate at her school. The principal wouldn't get involved because it was happening off of school grounds. The bully got other girls to join in, but it was all done on the internet. Nothing I did stopped the bullying and the principal was no help. My daughter was not the bold, fight back type. Her idea of fun was to sit under a tree and have book reading marathons. I was about ready to pull my daughter out of school and get her a tutor because she was miserable. One day something snapped in my daughter. She went to school and beat the living daylights out of the girl who was bullying her.

I received a call from the principal and it took a couple of minutes to register in my brain because my daughter was not the fighting type. She was the total opposite of that. The girl's mother was livid because the girl needed medical care. My daughter broke the girl's nose too. The mother called the police. The police came to the house to discuss the matter. I showed him everything on the internet. He took my daughter's side and said that he was going to do everything to see to it that nothing happened to her.

To make a long story a bit shorter, nothing happened to my daughter other than getting suspended for a day for fighting in school. And the bullying stopped. I don't advocate violence. But I also don't know what the answer is to stop bullying. Point is that kids in school are taking bullying to these social networking sites because they know that the school won't get involved and they won't get in trouble.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

leahkaiz — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:38:07 -0000

I think it is always a case of balance in all that you do. I think that while the points he made were valid, there is still the responsibility factor of the user that is being ignored and in the case of minors, there is the responsibility factor of the parents that is being over looked. I believe that as a parent they are responsible for knowing what their children are involved with and being an active participant. Whether it's going to their sporting events, or knowing the topics that are near and dear to them on FB, MySpace etc. If you don't know what your children are really talking about how can you really know them? And, yes no one should rely solely on Social Media as their Social interactions. There are always the missing elements of body language and voice intonation that makes up a full and interactive social context. But the networking aspect as well as many other aspects of social media can be very beneficial to people who use it. ANYTHING requires responsible use and personal responsibility. You can't just say it's the fault of social media.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Chris Horton — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:37:47 -0000

I had to stop reading this once I realized he's being serious. This is a huge development. We are able to stay in contact in ways never before. We are now building stronger relations with others by being able to stay in contact longer.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

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Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

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Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

steveseager — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 06:28:41 -0000

Thanks for the 'fess up. It just smacked too much of sensationalist 'Sun' style 'reporting' for me. Didn't expect that from Mashable.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

EmailMarketing — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:11:18 -0000

The greatest benefit of Facebook is that it has many groups on the site that you can join. So if you are interested in Chicago Cubs you can research Chicago Cubs in the groups section and you will be able to find friends on there that like the Cubs. This is just one example, I know that you can join groups of your favorite football team, television show, or whatever you want for the most part! If you can't find a group for your interest, you can simply create one!

James
Email Marketing Software

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

EmailMarketing — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 03:10:43 -0000

James
Email Marketing Software

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Duyen Tran — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:53:17 -0000

Does Facebook lead to Suicide? Certainly Not! Does it lead to isolation? Yes, Probably! But... isn´t it quite oversimplified to say "It’s up to us to be responsible with the power of new technology, and to avoid the pitfalls of human nature." ? Accordingly possible to say "It´s up to us to be responsible with the power of drugs? Why don´t we legalize drugs, as the netherlands did? Some are depending on drugs, others are depending on network communications. There are some reasons to be concerned with the further progress.

Re: Facebook Leads to Suicide, Warns UK Head of Roman Catholic Church

Betsey Doane — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 00:20:35 -0000

Responsible is the key.