Why is this site 18+

[LaVieEnRose]

Of course there's an arbitrary element to it like with other age divisions. Not like a person will think differently the day before their 18th birthday and the day after.

 

[Dot]

Y r porngrphy stes 18+

Y r childrn nt allowd 2 drve

Y r childrn nt allowd 2 purchse & drnk alcohl

Y r childrn nt allowd 2 own guns

Y cn childrn nt join th/ army unlss thy r in a militnt 3rd wrld cntry

I mean, it may be 18+ but it isn't reinforced. It's mostly a public face to hold people off that attack the site

It's a chill way to handling things

= defntly enforcd

N.e persn wh/ = discovrd as <18 = insta-bannd frm th/ ste

 

[UseItOrLoseIt]

The only way to fairly answer this question is to restrict it to your own experience and let the reader draw his conclusions.
My conclusions - I didn't know shit at 18. I was wrong on almost every front I can imagine.
The catch is of course that I'm still here at 37, so you have the full right to be sceptical. It turns out I was right, but not for reasons I thought were gonna lead to my downfall. My health deteriorated horribly around 25 so the result of me still being here has nothing to do with my suicidal temperament at 18. Things got fucked for me later and when I was a teenager most of my problems were made up in my mind. I'm not saying anyone else's problem are 100% imaginary. But I have full right to say that most of mine were.

 

[hellispink]

The brain doesn't fully develop until you are 25. The internet is a dangerous place. And they can be manipulated super easily. Mostly if they come from dysfunctional broken families. Imagine when one is a child or teenager, its even worse. I have been suicidal since I was 11 and I wanted to die so bad and I know adults don't get it because I lived it myself. Adults laughed when i told them about my pain so i am not trying to say they shouldn't because i know hell since i was a child and i cannot blame anyone. But biologically a lot of things we see as problems are not what they appear to be when we are below 18. We realize as we become adults. This place is not the right one for people younger than this age . Its just how it works

 

[NumbItAll]

No input on the 18+ rule but I am sure that you should be at least 120 years old to reproduce; anyone younger than that is probably lacking the emotional depth and understanding about the consequences of creating an entire new life.

 

[SexyIncél]

I think this is a helpful question, because it questions common sense. Even if it pisses people off. Many smart people aren't afraid to ask dumb questions

I likely had enough sanity at 13 to NOT go "Durrr, @FuneralCry said life sucks, so I'm gonna drink SN". In fact, I'd probably be insulted by someone implying that

No, 13 year old me would've benefited greatly from this site. I don't think people get much smarter. They're just usually infantilized in hierarchical families and schools until 18. So they're a bit naive. But adults are naive too, in many ways probably worse. Infantilized by workplaces, doctors/shrinks, mainstream media

Military commercials and movies are much worse. Makes people go commit international mass murder. Maybe get their legs or genitals shot off

Homeless people next to opulence is much worse. Hardens people to misery

People misunderstand this forum. It offered the means to save my life. It shows a non-disneyfied view of reality. It shows many traps of the world -- helpful if you want to avoid tragedy and irrational decisionmaking. It shows this is a peculiarly violent world where many lifeforms must tear each other's bodies apart -- or die of hunger

Lots of kids play violent videogames. Smart parents should grab them, take a break from the blood spatter, and read some of the posts here together. Starting slowly, seeing if there's any nightmares or trauma. Sharing questions and discussions

 

[nonialabaster]

The brain doesn't fully develop until you are 25. The internet is a dangerous place. And they can be manipulated super easily. Mostly if they come from dysfunctional broken families. Imagine when one is a child or teenager, its even worse. I have been suicidal since I was 11 and I wanted to die so bad and I know adults don't get it because I lived it myself. Adults laughed when i told them about my pain so i am not trying to say they shouldn't because i know hell since i was a child and i cannot blame anyone. But biologically a lot of things we see as problems are not what they appear to be when we are below 18. We realize as we become adults. This place is not the right one for people younger than this age . Its just how it works

Damn straight! I'm 53 and remember throwing myself on my parents bed when I was 10, because my best friend decided she didn't like me anymore. I was screaming, "I want to die! I want to die!" My dad was super annoyed with me, leaving me with Mom, to cry it out. In the meantime, he'd called my friend's Mom, who assured him that this was just a temporary thing. Ten-year-old girls are mean little things! And I was a sensitive child. Tonya was back at my house the next weekend.

I've suffered from depression most of my life. It abated while my late husband was here, but he died last April. It's come roaring back, but I had 27 years of relative calm. Fits and bursts, here and there, but Mark was a good salve, for the most part. All this to say, that your brain develops slower than you would like it to. Impulsivity is common in younger people. A bad experience, a breakup, etc, can cause people to make a decision that could kill them. Not a pro-lifer, but this is one of the reasons this site is adults only.

 

[Sulyya]

The instant the 18+ tickbox were removed, sasu would get a tidal wave of new press again, further flooding the site and harassing its users.

 

[Sparr0w]

It shows a non-disneyfied view of reality.

....no, it's a bunch of suicidal people's veiw on reality. certainly more diversity than disney, i'll give you that, but entirely skewed by "life is always totally pain and i want to die".

Lots of kids play violent videogames. Smart parents should grab them, take a break from the blood spatter, and read some of the posts here together. Starting slowly, seeing if there's any nightmares or trauma. Sharing questions and discussions

agree to disagree, but i don't think showing 13 year old me someone's worst thoughts and feelings from this forum would've helped me. there are other ways to talk about the worst part of life, and a lot of posts here have a lot of "i'm depressed" filler and little life lesson.
...actually, around when i was 13 was the time i was running thay discord server with a vent channel, so i can confirm: the only thing knowing someones worst feelings did is make it impossible for me to speak up about my own, because i can only remember the worry and pain it caused me to see someone else talk about stuff like that.

 

[SexyIncél]

....no, it's a bunch of suicidal people's veiw on reality. certainly more diversity than disney, i'll give you that, but entirely skewed by "life is always totally pain and i want to die".

Well, I have very few suicidal ideations and blab here a lot! This place saved my life. Furthermore, as I mentioned, US highschool students have a suicide attempt rate of 8.9%. Even Game of Thrones didn't have environmental collapse, nuclear war and diseases

In Real Life™, I help people who feel "life is always totally pain and i want to die". Because why not solve serious problems, rather than "Oh McDonald's stopped selling McRibs"? For those who don't, there's always Instagram and Pornhub

...actually, around when i was 13 was the time i was running thay discord server with a vent channel, so i can confirm: the only thing knowing someones worst feelings did is make it impossible for me to speak up about my own, because i can only remember the worry and pain it caused me to see someone else talk about stuff like that.

Running a vent channel made it "impossible" for you to vent? Because their words cause displeasure? Well, that sounds ironic, but fortunately those using it didn't seem to find it impossible to speak up. Maybe you actually helped people express things

If it hurts, maybe one should stop doing it? Many feel bad about this site, but there's a solution for that

But one could also care about their fellow human. When they go through shit, maybe listen and consider how to help out. Try not to mope or act like listening's some kind of burden. tbh it's energizing helping people with their problems. At least compared to jobs that pay to solve fake problems

And I said, "Lots of kids play violent videogames. Smart parents should grab them, take a break from the blood spatter, and read some of the posts here together. Starting slowly, seeing if there's any nightmares or trauma. Sharing questions and discussion." That's the opposite of shutting kids up, treating them like little morons, or throwing them in the deep end. If stabbing someone's better than hearing from sad lonely people, then sure why not play Fortnite or Mortal Kombat 12. Or talk about how cool it is to join the military and shoot someone in the crotch. Teach kids to ignore hungry beggars on the way to Pizza Palace

 

[user_name_here]

Because some people want to force children to suffer in this hellish world against their wishes.

Oh pls stop. Such a harmful take.

 

[Not_A_Seagull]

I mean, it may be 18+ but it isn't reinforced. It's mostly a public face to hold people off that attack the site

It's a chill way to handling things

how do you know?

 

[soontobedone]

The body and brain need time to finish growing.

 

[WeighAnchor]

18 is the age you're legally considered an adult in most countries. Modern society has decided that at 18 you're old enough to make your own decisions. I find this line to be somewhat arbitrary, but it has to be drawn somewhere. Since this site is for suicidal people to find a place to talk to others in similar situations, get help or find methods to end their lives, it makes sense that they draw the line there too.

 

[Dead Ghost]

For legal reasons above all. In Spain itself the law is very clear in this regard, it is not allowed access to these resources to minors and is punishable by imprisonment for those responsible for the post that allow it.

On the other hand, I myself, at the age of 18, was too immature to understand the scope of my decisions (and today it is often difficult enough)... I mean that in my case I should not have been allowed to access this site even at 30 years old... but you can not make a personalized treatment with each member to know what is his maturity and assess whether he can be a member of SaSu whatever age he is, so I find it reasonable to conform to law, because as I say those responsible for this site do not have the necessary resources to know who should or should not be able to access this site regardless of their age.

//

Per cuestions legals sobretot. A Espanya mateix la llei és molt clara al respecte, no està permés l'accés a aquest recursos a menors i es sanciona amb penes de presó pels responsables del lloc que ho pemetin.

D'altra banda, jo mateix, als 18 anys, era massa inmadur per comprendre l'abast de les meves decisions (i avuí día ja és prou difícil moltes vegades).. vull dir que en el meu cas no m'haurien d'haver deixat accedir a aquest lloc ni tan sols amb 30 anys... però no es pot fer un tracte personalitzat amb cada membre per saber quina és la seva maduresa i evaluar si pot ser membre de SaSu tingui l'edat que tingui, així que trobo raonable ajustar-se a llei, ja que com dic els responsables d'aquest web no disposen dels recursos necessaris per saber qui hauría de poder accedir o no a aquest web independentment de la seva edat.

 

[Disaster]

This site is useful, sure, but it's also a very unsafe place. Unfortunately free speech plus making sure that the users are safe is not very compatible. Sure, also censorship + making sure that the users are safe may not go well, but that's a whole different topic. I'm very much against the partners topic here, but let's speculate, if kids and teens were allowed here, let's imagine a kid or teen going into a suicide pact here. And someone dying or attempting together with a minor. Either two minors or one adult and one minor, dunno which is more disturbing. Imagine all the drama in media, and imagine how quickly this site would be down. And rightfully! This would be a place for predators basically, and really scary and wrong things could and would happen.
I'm sorry that kids and teens don't have a safe space to discuss their suicidality, but in the current situation trying to provide such space here would be just a way to take this site down really quickly.
Also, people here already ask "how to kill myself" without reading stuff. I don't know the age of said people. I'm aware that this could be a kid, lacking enough literacy and critical thinking skills to start with doing some research. But that's a whole different level of messed up stuff, if said person receives advice how to do it on a site that is intended for adults (even tho a kid may sneak in), and different level when other kids, or adults, would willfully give advice to a ten year old how to do it.
Also, the common sense, understanding how human bodies work, medical and scientific literacy of the users here can be lacking here. Sure, some kids and teens are smart, but the quality of content would be lower in youth was allowed here. Sure, some kids are smart and all, but overall spaces in the internet where minors are allowed has contents of lower quality. I think human species should stop reproducing, to not allow people to be in this limbo where they actually want to die, but are not reasonable enough to understand the consequences of their actions. I'm really sorry for anyone who is in said situation.

 

[SexyIncél]

I'm very much against the partners topic here

I'm being offtopic, and don't want to to convince anyone with a firm opinion. Just offering a brief alternate perspective, which people can disagree with

I personally consider the partners megathread the most important part of the site. Many probably overlook its benefits. People frequently have mutual problems they can team up to solve together. The outcomes are as nuanced as the variety of participants

Of course everything has both upsides and downsides, including airbnb, hence risk/reward analysis

 

[Live and Let Die]

Why shouldn't it be +18?

Legality, we all want this site to stay, and unless laws change for child safety then it will have to remain 18+. However the age verification being only a check box doesn't do much, making this site very loosely 18+.

 

[teyabutter]

title

Agree with people when they say for legal/safety reasons.
That way the website doesn't get sued and they don't have people going after them for not at least trying to discourage minors from joining.
I think that it should be up to people themselves whether they want to join, but yeah the owners probably just want to stay safe and I can respect that

 

[omoidarui]

idk but i would feel extremely uncomfortable talking to a potential minor about this kind of topic and am mildly disturbed there are some who apparently wouldn't feel the same way

and this is coming from someone who believes the forum should be wide open to the public because i know how shit life can be for anyone any age, but that doesn't mean i would agree to minors being allowed to actively post (not that it probably doesn't happen anyway, but at least the policy plus discretion with whom interactions are made based on post content can keep aforementioned discomfort reasonably at bay)

my depressed 13 year old self probably would've taken to SS like my new home regardless of rules and futuristic hypocrisies, but as a adult i'm going to be boring and say i disapprove of minors being here

 

[BornToFail]

The simple answer is: legal issues