An Internet suicide is a suicide pact made between individuals who meet on the Internet. The majority of such Internet-related suicide pacts have occurred in Japan, which has one of the highest overall suicide rates in the world, but similar incidents are also being reported in Hong Kong, South Korea, Germany, Australia, Norway, the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, and Sweden. Though the first known Internet-related suicide pact occurred in Japan in October 2000, it was a later February 2003 incident, involving a young man and two young women, that “became a landmark incident of Internet suicide pacts in Japan due to heavy media coverage” (source: “Suicide as Japan’s major export", Kayoko Ueno, Revista Espaco Academico, January 2005). Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... Teenage suicide is an act where a teenager feels it necessary to kill themselves, suicide. ... A euthanasia machine. ... A murder suicide is an act in which an individual kills one or more other persons immediately before, or while killing himself. ... A suicide attack is an attack in which the attacker or attackers intend and expect to die (see suicide). ... Ritual suicide is the act of suicide motivated by a religious, spiritual, or traditional ritual. ... Cult suicide is that phenomenon by which some religious groups, in this context often referred to as cults, have led to their membership committing suicide. ... Mass suicide occurs when a number of people kill themselves together or for the same reason and is usually connected to a real or perceived persecution. ... A suicide pact describes the suicides of two or more individuals in an agreed-upon plan. ... A copycat suicide is defined as a duplication or copycat of another suicide that the person attempting suicide knows about either from local knowledge or due to accounts or depictions of the original suicide on television and in other media. ... Forced suicide is a method of execution where the victim is given the choice of commiting suicide, or facing an alternative they perceive as worse - like suffering torture, or having friends or family members killed. ... Suicide-by-cop is a suicide method in which someone deliberately acts in a threatening way towards a law enforcement officer, with the main goal of provoking a lethal response (e. ... Suicide has been part of the history of the world - people of all walks of life had committed suicide over the years. ... A list of famous people who have committed suicide. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This is a list of a number of common suicide methods that are used by people who wish to commit suicide. ... Kurt Cobains alleged suicide note. ... Suicide watch is the act of a prison officer making sure that a prisoner does not commit suicide because they show intentions of doing so. ... Various human cultures may have views on suicide not directly or solely linked to religious views of suicide. ... This page concerns suicide. ... Modern medical views on suicide consider suicide to be a mental health issue. ... There are a variety of philosophical views of suicide. ... There are a variety of religious views of suicide. ... Suicide, as a central feature of human life, has long fascinated human society. ... For the 1987 film, see Right to Die (film) The term right to die refers to various issues around the death of an individual when that person could continue to live with the aid of life support, or in a diminished or enfeebled capacity. ... Wikipedia contains a list of crisis hotlines by country. ... Various suicide prevention strategies have been used: Promoting mental resilience through optimism and connectedness. ... List of crisis hotlines by country USA - 1-800-784-2433 (1-800-SUICIDE) National Hopeline Network USA - 1-800-273-8255 (1-800-273-TALK) National Suicide Prevention Lifeline Links http://www. ... Modern medical views on suicide consider suicide to be a mental health issue. ... A suicide pact describes the suicides of two or more individuals in an agreed-upon plan. ...

Despite the alarmed response of the media, however, Internet-connected suicide pacts are still relatively rare. Even in Japan, where most of such pacts have occurred, they still represent only 2% of all group suicide-pacts, and less than .01% of all suicides combined. However, they do seem to be on the increase in that country: 34 such pacts occurred in 2003; at least 50 are estimated to have occurred in 2004; and 91 occurred in 2005 (sources: “Japan suicide reports”, Japan Mental Health, January 31, 2005; “Seven die in online suicide pact in Japan", Guardian (UK), March 2, 2005; and “Six dead in Japan 'suicide pact'", BBC, March 10, 2006).

Traditional suicide pacts vs Internet suicide pacts

A recent Internet article published by the Canterbury Suicide Project (“Suicide Pacts”, Christchurch School of Medicine, New Zealand, May 2005) makes some notable comparisons between the nature of “traditional” suicide pacts and more recent Internet-related suicide pacts (or, as described in the article, “cyber-based suicide pacts”). It points out that, traditionally, suicide pacts have been extremely rare; usually involve older individuals (50-60 years old) and very few adolescents; and tend to be between individuals with family or marriage-type relationships and differing, but complementary, psychiatric pathologies. On the other hand, the growing number of Internet-related suicide pacts are almost the exact opposite: they involve young people almost exclusively; tend to be between complete strangers or individuals with platonic friendship-type relationships; and the common characteristic between them would seem to be clinical depression. Clinical depression is a state of sadness or melancholia that has advanced to the point of being disruptive to an individuals social functioning and/or activities of daily living. ...

The article also points out that the trend of Internet-related suicide pacts is changing the way that mental-health workers need to deal with depressed and/or suicidal youngsters, advising that it is “prudent for clinicians to ask routinely if young people have been accessing Internet sites, obtaining suicide information from such sites, and talking in suicide chat rooms”.

Internet suicide in television

An antidisestablishementarianism Internet suicide pact was the main focus of an episode of Paranoia Agent. In the episode "Happy Family Planning," an old man, a young man, and a young girl meet to attempt many suicides. It is also seen in the Japanese movie Suicide Circle. This article or section may contain original research or unverified claims. ... Happy Family Planning is the eighth episode in the anime series Paranoia Agent. ... Suicide Circle (自殺サークル), also known as Suicide Club or Jisatsu Circle, is a 2002 Japanese independent film and part of a trilogy that gained a considerable amount of notoriety in film festivals around the world for its controversial subject matter and gory presentation, which led to its becoming a cult movie. ...