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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker Yes, but... the discussion is always about cyberbullying celebrities, which IS a red herring when we're talking about nationwide suicide rates. The rhetoric is, "We need to stop people using curse words online to protect poor celebrities." This ignores the suicide epidemic.
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker Also, it's worth noting that the biggest rise in suicides here isn't among the heaviest and most involved internet users, at all. It's among middle-aged and older people, and normally caused by isolation, depression, loneliness, and despair.
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker In fact, here's some data that suggests the internet may have reduced suicide rates among younger Koreans: the rate among teens and those in their 20s halved in the decades since the internet became a household fixture in the late 90s: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6169778/table/T1/?report=objectonly
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker Meanwhile, it almost-doubled, doubled, or even more than tripled in various age demographics from middle-aged to elderly. (The post-Asian Financial Crisis economics likely play a big role in that, but so does a general decline in elder care.)
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker That data only goes to 2016, but more recent sources are all over the place. I am not disimissing dismiss the troubling rise among young women, of course. I suppose if we label revenge porn as cyberbullying, that's part of it.
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker I would tend to consider it a special case of online abuse, but I'd hesitate to lump the two together, as it might facilitate the some downplaying of the seriousness of the former.(Especially in a discourse where some all but claim that being cursed at can drive one to suicide.)
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker It's a very complex problem. But on some level, when governments wake up and decide to give enough of a damn to combat it, known responses can help despite the complexity. This is what enrages me about it the whole national discussion being subverted for a power grab for so long.
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@ColetteBalmain @ellie0tran @BBCLBicker Obviously there are crisis centers and call lines and so on. But the public consciousness hasn't moved anywhere near as much as it could have. I have heartbreaking stories I could tell you... 😢 But heartbreak eventually transmutes to anger at those who did (almost) nothing.