17-year-old Girl Commits Suicide Because Of Facebook Row

A 17-year-old has committed suicide after her parents restricted her use of mobile phone and social networking sites like Facebook, police said on Thursday.

The incident occurred late on Wednesday night after 17-year-old Aishwarya S. Dahiwal had an argument with her parents over using Facebook on her computer.

According to investigating officer G. H. Lemgude, Aishwarya’s parents had objected several times to her using social networking sites and chatting long over the mobile phone.

“Like all parents, their intentions were only to ensure that the girl did not go astray. They advised her to concentrate on her technical studies and stay away from long mobile chats and social networking sites,” Lemgude said.

After the argument on Wednesday night, Aishwarya went to her room, penned a suicide note and hanged herself.

In the note, Aishwarya reportedly wrote that she had been constantly prevented from using Facebook by her parents.

“Is Facebook so bad? I cannot stay in a home with such restrictions as I can’t live without Facebook,” her suicide note said.

A note referring to the argument and Facebook is being examined by police.

The Dahiwal family, comprising jeweller Sunil Dahiwal, his wife and two sons are in a state of shock.

Experts say that there are almost always multiple causes for a suicide, including psychiatric illnesses, that may not have been recognised or treated.

Internet use remains low across India but is growing quickly, expected to reach about 200 million online out of the 1.2 billion-strong population by the end of 2013.

About three-quarters of India’s high school students prefer Facebook over phone calls to communicate, according to a survey released in June by Tata Consultancy Services.