Through his studies, Durkheim was able to pinpoint what he thought we reasons behind suicides: the levels of integration and regulation. Integration is how connected someone feels to society. Low integration is egoistic; a person doesn't feel connected and they don't know where they belong. This leads to loneliness, a lack of drive, and in some cases, suicide. On the opposite end, integration becomes altruistic when one feels so integrated. Some examples of this would be suicide bombers, and even member of the army, who go forward in battle even though they know death is imminent. Regulation refers to the rules in a society. In an anomic society, there are little rules, thus bringing about a high feeling of insecurity. Fatalistic societies are completely the opposite. They have too much regulation. Some examples of this would be the military, dictatorships, prisons, and slavery. If a society veers too far to either extreme in integration or regulation, people are more likely to commit suicide than in a society that is nearer to the middle. This chart shows the different lines a society can fall upon.
Obviously creating a society in which there is a perfect balance is impossible, but striving for it is something to consider. Suicide is a serious sociological issue. Thanks to Durkheim, we can be aware of reasons why suicide happens, and what we can do to prevent it.
I agree with you I think people who post things like that after people die are just feeling guilty. I think in our society we are so busy with other things that we forget to tell each other how much we love each other. This being the point we should make time for our loved ones so they know we care and are there for them.
ReplyDeleteI like how you related they types of suicide and levels of integration and regulation to a personal experience. It is important people always feel loved and included.
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be really interesting. Your take on the people posting as a sign of them feeling guilty is very interesting. I never really fully though of it in that way. I though of it in the way that today with all the social connections we have online that maybe thats the only play they feel connected to talk about that stuff. It might also be from guilt or just plan sadness. If you are upset most times you talk about it in todays way of talking its mostly through web. But your ideas do I think go with a book called "13 Reasons why". Thanks for the new way to look at this topic and idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the book suggestion! I'll definitely have to check it out. I think the social media connections do play into how we communicate now. However, I think it could be valid to say that if you weren't very connected with someone while they were alive, you probably aren't responding to a suicide in any way other than guilt or sympathy. It may sound kind of harsh, but I think social media is a simple, disconnected way to say things that we may be unable or unwilling to say face-to-face.
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