Suicide and the depression that drives people to it are not funny. Sad thing is, its hard to tell if this kid actually needs legitimate help and if the sudden influx of media and police attention let him get off with an "I wasn't serious" when he may have been, or if it really was a stupid prank by a dumb kid.

Problem is, suicide isn't as near as taboo to joke about as it should be. I can tell you though, if I was going to do it and let some random stranger know, just to vent, and they managed to get help to me in time, first thing I would do is play it off as not serious, because the consequences are a whole lot different.

If you're genuinely suicidal, you're looking at time with a psychologist, having to explain yourself to your family and friends, and potentially a life time of medication and therapy.

If you can pass it off as a bad joke, you get a slap on the wrist, and you can continue flying under the radar. Which one of those sounds like a better alterantive?