I think the protocol is exactly what you did and Rick did. It was the adult thing to do. There may have been other teens that read that note and didn't know what to do.
Let's play it the other way, it could have be a hoax or cry for help. The kid would have gotten a minor boost out of it but then would have caught hell from others who'd want to know why did he post the message. There was no loss to your actions either way. A panic button would only make it a game to some and an annoyance to whoever is responsible to monitor millions of blog pages. Teens are impervious to danger (of all kinds) until their world crashes around them. Then they see only one way out. Education, compassion and more education can help. A lot of troubled kids need interventions on many levels. I don't think there is a technological answer to this one, just a blessed human one. His parents are thanking you and Rick beyond measure. Gena http://outonthestoop.blogspot.com http://pcclibtech.blogspot.com http://voxmedia.org/wiki/Video --- In [email protected], "Zadi" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hi All, > > Today I came across a teen who had written a suicide note on MySpace: > > <http://flickr.com/photos/karmagrrrl/326204445/?#comment72157594427411558> > > > At first, I thought it was a joke - just a teen looking for attention. > But when I clicked on his profile and read some of his blog posts, I > began to realize that it may be real after all. > > It turned out it was real. And he was overdosing on pills. Rick Rey, a > fellow videoblogger, called the school and the authorities handled it > from there. Just a few moments ago I received an email from one of his > friends saying the kid was alive and holding on in the hospital. > > My question is... What should the protocol be in instances like these? > You see a suicide note on a social network site and you feel > completely helpless. Luckily, Rick scanned the page enough to notice > the school info, but what if there had been none? > > I feel like there should be a little box on all these social networks > that say "in case of fire, break glass." A red button of sorts. But is > that getting into a whole gray area? > > How does one ensure that young people are physically safe? Can the > buddy system/top eight be more useful when things like this happen? Is > there an alarm? > > Just thinking out loud. Thoughts? > > Zadi > http://jetsetshow.com > http://zadidiaz.com >
