Wrong Test Score SMS Leads To Student Suicide

Not the sort of story you want to hear, but apparently an Indian teenager committed suicide after getting an SMS saying she had failed her exam results. It still seems unclear if the error was at the end of the company sending the results, or if the girl keyed in the wrong information. Either way, providers are very quickly telling everyone to make sure they double check the information in the future to avoid such issues. This is an unfortunate story, but shows one of the dangers of instant information, and our natural willingness to accept any new bit of information as factual without double-checking. As information becomes ever more pervasive, people need to be reminded constantly that just because the information comes to you, it doesn't always mean that it's right. This is just one of many cultural issues people are going to need to get used to as wireless technologies become more widespread.
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  1. identicon
    Merv Perry, 25 May 2004 @ 2:33pm

    Urban Legend Strikes again

    Sorry, I think this an urban legend that needs to be investigated. Show me the references, article and proper sources. Regards Merv Perry MBA MSIS MENG

    link to this | view in thread ]

  2. identicon
    Gagan Chadha(www.geocities.com/chadhag), 25 May 2004 @ 2:33pm

    Teenager commits suicide after recieving SMS

    Every technology has its own merits and demerits. However, one must always use the alternative medium to verify the results whenever in doubt. Immediate reaction in any case is harmful and may prove to be fatal at times. I must admit the real time technologies are here to stay but then we should always check the authenticity of any information that we recieve, when in doubt.

    link to this | view in thread ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.