+129 Could developed countries' high suicide rates be due to the fact that we are so developed that we have nothing to strive for? We already have the best, and any advancement we come across just makes life easier. In third world countries, the constant uncertainty of the next meal seems enough to make someone kill themselves, but at least they know there is something better waiting for them, amirite?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I feel as though our advancement makes it much easier for idle minds to take hold, and idle minds hardly produce anything good. When I find myself with nothing to do I'm often wallowing in selfpity, but people living in those harsh conditions don't have the luxury of time that would allow them to be idle.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Wow... I'm sorry but that's really racist and ethnocentric... You assume that we "already have the best" and make third world countries out to be places where people live like animals. SMH...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm not sure how it's racist... She didn't mention anything about races. All she said is third world countries...

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I'm sorry, I guess prejudiced might have been a better word than racist. I guess what I was getting at was that OP clearly sees first world countries as having better technology than others, when in fact, it is just a different way of life.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Yeah. I get what you're saying. It does seem like it could be a prejudice and that is ones own opinion. I personally believe it isn't but like I said it's just an opinion.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

3rd world countries don't have the same technology as 1st world countries. That's a fact. But i do agree with you in that the people in 3rd world countries just live a different way of life, where things like electric toothbrushes and hair straighteners and smart phones aren't necessary, they live more simpler lives and have no interest or use for those things.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I think what the OP was trying to say was that in less developed countries there's a lot of hardship and therefore an instinctual will to survive, whereas in more developed countries people have a lot of things they take for granted, and like ThisIsWhyImRite said, have a bit too much time to dwell on things.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Do you understand the definition of racism? Damn I hate those thirdworldcontrists!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Did I say they lived like animals? No. You're blowing this out of proportion. I'm saying that they don't have the unnecessary technologies that they have that make life easier. They have to work 10 times harder than we do, and they don't have idle time. I wasn't intending to be racist. I was just saying that we have it so easy we have idle time available to wallow in self pity when they have to get out and work to get anything done. We could sit on our ass all day.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

10 times harder work yes, but they don't have nearly as many bills to pay. They do have idle time at the end of they day. They don't see it as anything hard either because they know no other way. People need to stop feeling sorry for people in 3rd world countries, they live happy lives (those that aren't affected by famine/drought/war etc. of course). I'm not trying to be offensive but have you ever been to a third world country and experienced their lifestyles? Because I have, and its not as you have described it.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Exactly. I live in a third world country and it really isn't that different than a first world country. Most people do not have to fight for survival. They have learned to live with the things they have, and that has caused them to develop different technologies than us. Just because what they have developed isn't electronics and what not doesn't mean it isn't a development.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

No. I haven't, I had just assumed, and apparently I was wrong. I didn't mean to offend anyone, I was just thinking about how much easier it is in countries classified as developed, and I wasn't trying to put down people that lived that lifestyle. I was just going by the way the news portrays other countries, but I guess they don't broadcast the good parts as much. Recently, all they've talked about is Somalia and places in a similar predicament.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

There's no correlation between suicide rates and a country's development status: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_suicide_rate

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Your really using wikipedia as a source?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Wikipedia has sources attached to it's articles. And *you're

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Then why not use those sources rather than a wikipedia link?

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I wouldn't use Wikipedia on a college paper, but this is an informal amirite post. And like BreakfastFan said, the Wiki article does cite its sources so there's really no issue here.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Alright. I just assumed that developed countries would commit suicide more often, because you hear it on the news all the time. But I guess you wouldn't hear about people that don't live in your country committing suicide.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Have you even been to a third world country??

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Suicide rates in countries are typically associated with the culture and mindset of said country. For example, Japan has really high suicide rates because it isn't considered taboo as it is in other countries and there's also an intense cultural pressure to succeed, so when Japan faced a recession which thus resulted in major unemployment, a huge amount of unemployed men committed suicide because they felt deeply ashamed.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Not to mention an 80 hour work week when they have a job..

by Anonymous 12 years ago

japan wasn't on the list of the highest suicide rates.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

It's the fifth one down from the list on Wikipedia. Japan is infamous for having incredibly high suicide rates.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

lmao nevermind I'm blind, but you did make good points up there.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

People in the United States also have an intense cultural pressure too, to be perfect. We don't have to worry about surviving and getting an education here (most of us), so we focus on something else. Since we're already set for living, we're just trying to make that life the best we can. People end up committing suicide because sometimes they can't achieve certain critical aspects of that perfection.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Not all third world countries are starving shitholes, jeez!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I didn't say that they were starving shitholes. Calm the fuck down. I'm saying that they have to work harder to accomplish things, because they don't have the same unnecessary technologies that we have that make everything easier. And since they have to work harder they have less idle time. JEEZ!

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Ah, sorry boy that. I meant in reply to the above comments :3

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I thought it was because life is so mainstream.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

Nah, we're pretty spoiled and have come to expect the best.

by Anonymous 12 years ago

I wasn't trying to be racist, and I didn't know there wasn't a correlation between suicide rates and how developed a country has become. I just assumed that suicide levels were higher in developed countries, but that could be because I hear about them more often. No one seems to broadcast anything about suicides in undeveloped countries.

by Anonymous 12 years ago