Rory Reynolds: How internet is matter of life and death

THE phrase "internet chatrooms" is one that has become associated with troubled teenagers, and is enough to strike fear into the hearts of worried parents.

The two words feature heavily in the column inches of court reports and recent suicide videos before campus massacres in the United States and Finland.

And those parents' fears came fighteningly close to home this week after a city pupil told forum members that he planned to killed himself and three schoolmates the following day.

The police swoop on the George Watson's pupil, who threatened to shoot those he claimed were the "meanest bullies", shocked the exclusive private school to its core on Monday.

There is no suggestion that the school is lacking in the facilities to deal with bullying, but the case this week has thrust the issue of the dangers of internet chatrooms to the fore once again.

Perhaps the details that will alarm parents the most is that the 14-year-old, who has since been referred to social workers at the city council, accessed SupportChat! and seemingly looked for advice from forum members.

Chillingly, echoing several high-profile "cyber suicides", his peers on the site encouraged him to go ahead with the massacre he said he had planned. He thanked them for their help.

What could have happened next is difficult to imagine, but fortunately the alarm was raised by one user in Ireland who alerted police.

While this week's events in the Capital are no doubt isolated, head teachers and parents will be asking themselves how much support do their children have? Are they doing enough to root out instances of bullying in schools?

Charles Gibb, a chartered educational psychologist with the city's Educational Psychology Practice, said that the anonymity of websites such as SupportChat! can be a big attraction to pupils who are being bullied.

However he warned that many are "highly risky".

"For some people bullying can get very, very bad and they'll seek any kind of help," he said. "Different people react in different ways. They get desperate and they'll go anywhere and you can kind of explain why they turn to these sites.

"I don't know much about this case and I don't know what kind of support this lad has been given, but sites like this are highly risky."

Mr Gibb said that the atmosphere of a chat room takes away any inhibitions and can lead to talk of "extreme" action against those that the victim feels they are being bullied by.

"Even just by the virtue of the fact that it is impersonal, it's a kind of encouragement in itself to say something extreme", he said.

"Once these young people have said something like this they can feel obliged to do at least something about it, not always, but there are great risks in visiting these places."

Arguably there are forums where discussion between groups and individuals can be of mutual benefit, and there are no previous reports that SupportChat! has had such incidents before.

However, there have been a series of high-profile cases in recent years, including one in 2007 where 42-year-old Kevin Whitrick, from Telford in Shropshire, hung himself in front of his webcam after users on the mainstream video site PalTalk "egged him on, telling him to get on with it".

Such events have led to calls for unregulated forums to be closed down, and last year it was reported that sites offering suicide advice could face prosecution. So should the government avoid any more risk and put an end to discussion forums?

Earlier this year the Scottish Government launched a high-profile campaign to raise awareness of some of the dangers of the internet, but says that raising awareness among children and parents is the key.

At the time Adam Ingram MSP Minister for Children and Early Years, said: "The internet provides countless opportunities for learning and socialising but unfortunately there are malicious individuals and organisations who exploit the relative freedom which it provides.

"We want young people to enjoy the internet and that means helping them stay in control and ensuring they know what to do and who to go to if they feel at risk.

"We need to step up our work with parents and carers, teachers and other professionals, as well as industry to improve protection and increase understanding of how to keep our children safe online."

Mr Gibb also agrees that any ban would only gloss over the problem of bullying and advocates a policy of zero-tolerance in schools.

"I wouldn't ban these sites because they let us off the hook. People can say 'these are banned now to what's the problem?' he said.

"What we need is schools, adults and support organisations to be much more aware of bullying and much more proactive.

"Bullying is not a problem that's going away."

Whatever the circumstances surrounding this week's incident, the details of which may become clear in the future, the issue of bullying and the use of internet chat rooms has been placed firmly back on the agenda. One hopes this focus will provide some respite for other desperate victims of bullying hiding away at the back of the city's classrooms.

Online Danger

Joanne Lee and Steve Lumb The pair, 34 and 35, gassed themselves last month within their Vauxhall Astra in Essex just hours after meeting on the internet. Cyber 'friends' had given Miss Lee, who had depression and anorexia nervosa, advice and encouragement. Firefighters had to use airtight suits to remove their smartly dressed bodies from the vehicle.

Kevin Whitrick The 42-year-old from Telford in Shropshire, hung himself in front of his webcam after users on the mainstream video site PalTalk "egged him on telling him to get on with it". Emergency services broke down his door but were too late to save him.

Abraham K Biggs The death of Mr Biggs, a keen bodybuilder from Florida, shocked the United States. The 19-year-old took an overdose in his bedroom and filmed his death on the live video streaming website Justin.tv. with the webcam remaining on until paramedics burst in several hours later. The forum's moderators didn't take his threats seriously.