On Thursday in Japan, 350 people were forced to flee their homes due to man killing himself with “poison gas” he created from an Internet recipe. This is reportedly one of about 50 suicides in the past months in which the deadly gas hydrogen sulfide has been used.
The most recent death was a 24-year-old man in Otaru on the island of Hokkaido. A week earlier a teenage girl killed herself in southwestern Japan by mixing laundry detergent with cleanser in her bathroom.
While Japan has had a high suicide rate for a while (more than 30,000 a year since 1998 and 32,155 in 2006), these incidents demonstrate the inappropriate content that is available online.
Having been through childhood and adolescence, we are well aware of how overwhelming life can be during those tumultuous stages. We also know that those feelings of helplessness can disappear instantaneously once a friend calls or a kind word is received. This being the case, it’s important to protect our children from the recipes for escape that litter the Internet, luring them into making a decision that is tragic.
Japan’s National Police Agency is urging websites to delete posts that instruct readers on how to mix the chemicals. They are calling upon ISPs, telecom firms and cable broadcasters for help.

Reportedly some sites state that with hydrogen sulfide, which is colourless and smells like rotten eggs, “you can die easily and beautifully.” Some websites go so far as having “poison gas” warning signs that users can print out and post.

The Internet is full of great information and fantastic sites. Unfortunately, not everything in cyberspace is wonderful. Sites like the ones described above show why parental control products are very useful and could possibly even save a life.

Amanda and Robin

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 11:35 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.