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Virtual Suicide what is the best virtual way?

Posted by: DBS

Tagged in: Virtual Suicide , Myspace , Facebook

DBS

Is Virtual Suicide the right term to use? I pondered reading last week’s newsletter.

When we are born it is into a world that based on the facts taught and my current understanding of the universe, we have no choice in the matter. A few moments of frantic sweaty activity followed by a nine month swim and we are pushed screaming into what we know as the world.

When someone decides to end it by killing themselves it is called suicide (Netherlands in origin is the word from a Latin root).

Can we use the same term when we have of our own free will joined a Virtual World such as Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace or even MyDigitalLife?

Surely we should be saying resigned or retired?

Not to nitpick too much on the term I then turned my mind to consider what is the correct way to exit such a world.

Do you just go? Delete your profile and never go back? We have seen some people do that on this site some I miss some I don’t. If you resign from an organisation there are some general good tips to follow such as just state you are leaving and the effective date and nothing more.

In the job situation this is the best way. Whilst it might be personally pleasing to put in writing that you consider your boss to be the worst a%$#@)*& you ever worked for, you never know if that person will be your boss at some time in the future or worse that you may need to ask them for a reference.

Does the same apply in leaving a virtual world? “Hey you dudes on face book you have (*&&^% me off enough now up yours!!” does not seem to me to be the best approach. True the platform hosting the virtual world just shrugs and processes on bit by bit, but like the real world it is the virtual souls upon it that are likely to be most affected by the reality of your departure.

Having pondered the subject for a week, and never done it I then considered which of the sites I would like to leave. None of them sprang to mind as they had all been carefully selected for different reasons. Not having a site to leave I then turned to what sort of Virtual World Exiter would I be?

Am I a delete and go?

Do I put a polite message up and then delete a week later?

Do I %$#@! And then after a night of remorse when the anger has cooled go back and delete or worse first apologise and then delete?

For me it would probably be the first, after all leaving a note is something people do. We don’t get to leave anything when the grim reaper comes calling.

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Comments (3)Add Comment
OS GIKEN
...
written by OS GIKEN, July 07, 2010
1st things 1st, DBS, great blog!

2cndly, i have the theory that people in the world today, accept things that were unacceptable in 1995! Words and subliminal messages and ads are thrown arround as if we all are used to the ideas that we are fed. It was, and still is, a FAD to join social networks. On the other hand, some, even me, can justify how social networks and forums have helped me!

But some of these fools are now trying to force an acceptance of a new FAD...social suicide...what KUK is that? Whoever says that should be smacked! Suicide cannot be associated with digital ending, are you insinuating you HAD a LIFE online? If so, you do know that, in 1999, NERDS were considered people who DON'T communicate verbally/face to face or interact with society, they spend time on social mediums that takes away the anguish of having to deal with people in person...are we ALL considered Nerds?

People in today's world are way too accepting of anything. Pretty soon it would be okay to jerk off on YouTube! or, to tell your mom how you realy feel about her to millions of boring ass people who don't have things to do...

Its a sad state, but one that we all saw coming.


I always ask myself...if we are doing crap like this in 2010...what will we be doing in 2020?

Shocking, anyone saying social suicide and delete's their profile, should get an email, stating they did NOT commit suicide, they just merely deleted their profile for whatever reason...that's accepting in the REAL WORLD!
redsaid
...
written by redsaid, July 07, 2010
I have a friend who posted a 'farewell Facebook friends" note before deactivating her Facebook account. In it, she explained that her major deciding factor for leaving was to spend more time with her daughters and that she wanted to reconnect with us in a more quality way - such as via face-to-face visits as opposed to Facebook status updates - or, in the case of those of us who live too far away, via e-mail. She posted the date of her departure... and lasted exactly 48 hours before reactivating her account. After enduring much good-natured ribbing and mockery, she acknowledged a complete addiction to the site!

That's the one major advantage that 'offing' yourself virtually has over real-life suicide: you always have the option of resurrecting your virtual self!
OS GIKEN
...
written by OS GIKEN, July 07, 2010
LOL RedSaid...like I said, its a fad!smilies/angry.gif

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