Wednesday, March 09, 2005

Suicide Prevention and the Internet New alert (in Adobe Acrobat format) from the Centre for Suicide Prevention, a program of the Canadian Mental Health Association - "In the last decade, the Internet has experienced a phenomenal growth as technology costs continue to fall and more and more people have mainstream access to the network. Statistics show that the Internet represents an increasingly important medium, especially among adolescents and young adults who use it as a source of information and communication. A recent study by Statistics Canada (2001) showed that 90% of 15-19 year old teenagers had used the Internet in 2000, compared to 53% for the overall population. Since the younger age group is characterized by high suicide rates, it would be wise for the suicide prevention community to capitalize on new Internet-based prevention opportunities while anticipating potential new challenges."