We blog. We surf. We are amused. We learn. We are “online”. The Internet has become an addiction for some. Some people only have the friends they chat with online. Some feel disconnected from the real world and only “alive” or comfortable in a chat room. As long as you are not on a webcam, you can pretend to be anything you want people to believe you are.

A South Florida college student killed himself by overdosing on drugs in front of a live online audience as some computer users egged him on, some debated his method, and others tried to talk him out of it. Abraham Biggs, 19, of Pembroke Pines, FL., died Wednesday at his home from a toxic combination of opiates and benzodiazepine, a drug used to treat insomnia and depression. Authorities say the Broward Community College student is not the first person to commit suicide with a webcam rolling. There was also the case in which a South Florida man shot himself in the head in front of an online audience. And, in Britain last year, a man hanged himself while chatting online.

A few statistics: Suicide takes the lives of nearly 30,000 Americans every year. Many who attempt suicide never seek professional care. Substance abuse is a risk factor for suicide. For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death. 15% of those who are clinically depressed die by suicide. The strongest risk factor for suicide is depression. By 2010, depression will be the #1 disability in the world. (World Health Organization)

Wives and husbands complain about too much time spent by spouses in front of the computer. Marriages have been broken by Internet porn addiction or “affairs” begun through online connections. Some say the Internet can be addictive. Internet addiction disorder (IAD) is a disorder originally proposed in a satirical hoax by Ivan Goldberg, M.D., in 1995.

It is unknown whether Internet addiction has yet lead anyone to commit or attempt suicide. The Internet is  a means of communication, a vehicle for worldwide travel, without leaving your home. With the web, you can research topics of interest, catch up on the news, plan weekend activities, check the weather, transact banking activities or make reservations for an actual vacation – away from home. For Abraham Biggs, suicide online was like teetering from a ledge forty-stories above the street. He had the attention he wanted from horrified onlookers and the sickos that enjoyed watching. Its the same crowd, whether viewing it from the pavement below or through their webcam at home.

The topic seems quite morbid. But just when you think you have heard it all, know that there are those who enjoy a good funeral, just as others may enjoy weddings. There is even a website for that. It provides private, password protected Internet funeral service webcasting for various funeral homes, churches, mausoleums & cemeteries world-wide, and is part of “The Funeral Streaming Network”. Life and death, on the Internet.

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