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Thursday, August 8, 2013

The social network that triggers teen suicide

At least five teenagers have committed suicide after visiting the social network Ask.fm . The father of the latest victim demanded that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, to close the portal that "makes millions with the misfortunes of the people." Hannah Smith was 14 when he hanged himself after consulting Ask.fm to find a method to cure your eczemaThe other social network users advised him "slit his wrists" and "drink bleach" , he told his sister Joanne, who explained that for four months Hannah endured constant humiliation by anonymous comments. Even when Joanne posted a message to honor the memory of his sister, his words were also subjected to aggressive attacks. The victim's father, David Smith, insists that Ask.fm should be closed and sent a letter to the leader of the UK, David Cameron, to call for an end to more teen deaths. "Sites like this are making millions of dollars with the misfortunes of the people.This is a mistake," said David Smith. "If I will not alert on the issue, another teenager could die next week. I want this issue resolved as soon as possible to save vulnerable children,"said the letter. Ask.fm is registered in Latvia and has over 60 million users . Although the register request an email address, name and date of birth, the system can send messages anonymously. According to British newspaper Daily Mail, at least five teenagers between 12 and 16 have committed suicide in the last year in the UK, Ireland and USA after visiting Ask.fm.Josh's parents Unsworth, found hanged in April, saying that the origin of the problem lies in the possibility of anonymity. "These sites are addictive and not containing insults, children keep coming back to these sites because they are curious to see what is said about them" , explains Josh's mother. This woman posted a petition online to close the site that already has over 10,000 signatures. In 2012, the social network that belongs to millionaires Terebins Ilja and Marks reported that employs " 50 moderators who monitor questions 30 million and 30 million page impressions a day. "

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