Page 18 - Delaware Medical Journal - April 2018

Slender Man Strikes Again!
Salman Salaria, MD, MPH; Mary Diamond, DO, MA, MPA; Thomas L. Olson, PhD; Imran Trimzi, MD
We present the case of a patient who came into the crisis stabilization unit (CSU) due to homicidal and suicidal ideations influenced by a character named Slender Man. Despite being a source of valuable information, the World Wide Web also allows individuals to access material which can be detrimental to one’s mental health. This case report highlights the evaluation, treatment and prevention of homicidal and suicidal ideations in children that are influenced by online characters such as Slender Man.
FIGURE I: Slender Man13
INTRODUCTION
With the advancement of technology, cyberspace has become a place where children and adolescents of this generation are spending a great deal
of their time. With the advancement of digital technology in the form of cellular phones, tablets, laptops etc., there has been an increase in behavioral problems in cyberspace, which has been associated with exposing children to different forms of cyber violence. Chisholm’s study on cyberspace violence reveals that children between the ages of 8 and 18 years spend eight hours per day using computer based technology.1 Even as distant as 2001, a study conducted by the United States Department of Justice disclosed that close to 6% of youth reported violent activity while using the internet in the form of either harassment or threats.1
The phenomenon of cyber violence starts by creating a screen name that
of fantasies. In cyberspace, a non- aggressive person has the ability to act out as they wish due to the anonymity of being online. Through the use of
provocative online messaging, online relationships are created that can be risky and dangerous in nature. Beresin’s study on the impact of violence discloses that children watch 28 hours of television a week and an American child watches greater than 200,000
acts of violence, which includes 16,000 murders, before they reach the age
of 18.2 iSAFE’s 2003 survey of 1,500 fourth to eighth grade students revealed that close to 40% had been victims of online bullying and about 20% had received malicious emails.1
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FIGURE II11: Percentage of Children Ages 3 to 17 Who Have Access to a Computer at Home and Who Use the Internet at Home, Selected Years 1984-2013
Abstract