A coroner has recorded a verdict of suicide on a man who hanged himself after visiting a chatroom on Paltalk. In it, he had expressed suicidal thoughts, upon which other users encouraged him to take his own life. Kevin Whitrick did commit suicide.
As a former user of AOL chatrooms, I know only too well the verbal abuse, harassment and bullying that goes on in there. It has turned me off the phenomenon almost completely. The coroner in this sad case issued a warning against chatroom users and hosters who promoted insulting behaviour. Paltalk is alleged to have had a chatroom which did just that.
The police did investigate the incident, but found that there was insufficient evidence to file charges against any individual.
I would like to express my sympathies to Mr Whitrick's widow and children.
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How absolutely terrible Guido! I am soo sad to hear about this incident! I myself have witnessed these kinds of comments and dont even go to chatrooms anymore...humans can be so cruel! How sad....
ReplyDeleteThat is awful. The people in the chat room should have surrounded him with positive thoughts and encouraged him to call a Crisis Hotline if he was really feeling that depressed. What has happened in our world to make people so cold and callous? Lord help us be sensitive to all those around us. Linda in Washington state
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad ending. Where the hell was these people's humanity? Compassion and kindness should be given just as freely as insulting barbaric commetary....yet there seems to be a sad decline in moral caring among so many. I myself have found the chat rooms to be childish and rude to say the least. (Hugs) Indigo
ReplyDeleteI gave up using chatrooms after the second time I went into one on my first year online. I was shocked the first time but thought I had chosen a bad one so a few days later I gave it a second go. The filthy talk, the sexual innuendo, the encouragement for cyber sex, the insults. I knew then and there that chat rooms were not for me. Obviously this man was in a very fragile state. Shame on all of them for what they did.
ReplyDeleteAwww man so sad. I don't do chats ... less they are meetings or JLand... I rarely do IMs. With that said AOL doesn't even have the community leaders monitoring 99% of the rooms any longer so they do whatever they want.
ReplyDeletegrrrr
hugs
d
So sad that he took it to heart. My thoughts are with his family.
ReplyDeleteGaz
a good several years back, I used to go to chat rooms, but they have changed so much...I wouldn't dare, now. :-/
ReplyDelete~Amy
Just another avenue for bullies.
ReplyDeleteLori
Chat rooms disturb me. I have no wish to join in on them. It's enough to just comment in each others journals for me.
ReplyDeleteFor one it must take up a lot of your time, if the transcript of the last AOL chat, which was mostly friendly, apart from the'Troll' and inuendo that caused.
It's not always possible to convey true feelings and meaning quickly as you type in chat or Im's, so nuances can be added or taken away from written conversation.
He must already have been a disturbed and melancholic man to have relied on this form of communication for his comfort and support.
I too would like to express my sympathies to Mr Whitrick's widow and children. How very sad the thoughts and instructions of strangers robbed them of their husband and father.
Life can be so wicked and cruel!
Jeanie
OMG this is SICK! Things like this really make me lose faith in humanity.
ReplyDeletePam
Oh, wow. He needed a supportive chat room, if any chat room. Supportive people. How utterly sad that people would actually encourage him to go ahead with this. Shaking my head. I truly do not comprehend how some people act (the encouragers). My sympathies to his widow and children, also.
ReplyDeleteVery sad about Kevin Whitrick... I'm glad we all have j-land for our support when needed. This is such a great community.
ReplyDeleteJoann