Once
again the tragic deaths and attempted suicides of vulnerable
youngsters as a result of internet activity becomes national news.
Sadly, as a Samaritan, I am not at all surprised, as the increasing number of calls, emails and text messages from youngsters shows. Only yesterday in my local pharmacy I happened to speak to someone whose child was self harming and suicidal.
There are a number of issues here. Increasingly young people have access to the technology that many of us oldies can only have imagined when we were their age. Then the dangers were different, but of no less concern. When we left the house, apart from locating a push button pay phone, we remained uncontactable. Nowadays, we can all be contacted all of the time, 24 hours a day, with no let up. This means both positive and negative contact, and the constant need to know what others think or do. Much has been said about the increasing tendency to lead our lives literally hooked up to our ipads and mobiles. It's as if we feel we cannot perform without them. The extent to which my fellow councillors feel duty bound to check their messages during meetings is testimony to this, and as adults they should know better.
In addition to this it seems that the majority of children over the age of 9 or 10 now have a TV and computer in their bedroom, hidden away from prying adult lives. Increasingly isolated, because parents are either not around or too busy to interact properly, along with broken relationships, causing angst and stress for all concerned, the impact of this can only increase. It was something raised by the Chief Constable at last night's South Somerset District Council meeting at which he confirmed that the face of crime is changing, and rapidly. However, we can all do our bit to try to help or stem the flow of such invidious activity. As a County Councillor with particular interest in child welfare, I recently met with officers to discuss ways to 'Champion the Child', and in the coming months I will be meeting with all sectors of the community to look at ways we can protect our youngsters. One simple action can to be more observant, as changes in behaviour, loss of control or withdrawal, can be a valuable sign that all is not well. If we don't, the impact on all of us will be far reaching
In the meantime, the message is clear, if you are feeling vulnerable and suicidal call someone, it often helps to talk about it before its too late. Samaritans offers free, confidential help to everyone, and often it is that very anonymity that encourages someone to tell someone, and save precious lives.
Sadly, as a Samaritan, I am not at all surprised, as the increasing number of calls, emails and text messages from youngsters shows. Only yesterday in my local pharmacy I happened to speak to someone whose child was self harming and suicidal.
There are a number of issues here. Increasingly young people have access to the technology that many of us oldies can only have imagined when we were their age. Then the dangers were different, but of no less concern. When we left the house, apart from locating a push button pay phone, we remained uncontactable. Nowadays, we can all be contacted all of the time, 24 hours a day, with no let up. This means both positive and negative contact, and the constant need to know what others think or do. Much has been said about the increasing tendency to lead our lives literally hooked up to our ipads and mobiles. It's as if we feel we cannot perform without them. The extent to which my fellow councillors feel duty bound to check their messages during meetings is testimony to this, and as adults they should know better.
In addition to this it seems that the majority of children over the age of 9 or 10 now have a TV and computer in their bedroom, hidden away from prying adult lives. Increasingly isolated, because parents are either not around or too busy to interact properly, along with broken relationships, causing angst and stress for all concerned, the impact of this can only increase. It was something raised by the Chief Constable at last night's South Somerset District Council meeting at which he confirmed that the face of crime is changing, and rapidly. However, we can all do our bit to try to help or stem the flow of such invidious activity. As a County Councillor with particular interest in child welfare, I recently met with officers to discuss ways to 'Champion the Child', and in the coming months I will be meeting with all sectors of the community to look at ways we can protect our youngsters. One simple action can to be more observant, as changes in behaviour, loss of control or withdrawal, can be a valuable sign that all is not well. If we don't, the impact on all of us will be far reaching
In the meantime, the message is clear, if you are feeling vulnerable and suicidal call someone, it often helps to talk about it before its too late. Samaritans offers free, confidential help to everyone, and often it is that very anonymity that encourages someone to tell someone, and save precious lives.
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