Lots of people are solitary today. Many people feel a sense of loneliness even if they have a family. Especially in Japan, that's inextricably linked to many of today's issues like teenagers refusing to go to school, teen suicide and solitary death. There are excellent online education systems that can help students graduate from high school and get a diploma even if they have trouble going to school. There are lots of people who have the desire to commit suicide, however, there are also people who want to help them. And solitary people aren't only young people; there are some useful home appliances to prevent solitary death of elderly people. The Internet can be helpful in preventing such people from dying alone, and can also alleviate some risks. I'm going to focus on the problem of the solitude of people in today's society.

First, I will introduce online education systems. Thanks to the Internet, it is possible to get an education without going to school. Even if you can't go to school, you don't have to think your life is over. Teachers who understand your feelings are waiting for you online.

Teen suicide is one of the most serious problems in the world, and it's also devastating to the bereaved and their friends. People around that person might be left wondering if they could have done something to prevent such a tragedy. For them, they could talk to someone who didn't know them secretly on the Internet. There are some hotlines to help solitary people, and websites where people posts episodes about their own difficult past. If you're overwhelmed with hopelessness or dealing with excessive frustration alone, there must be people with similar experiences who have recovered safely now on the Internet.

The number of solitary death of elderly people is increasing in Japan. In addition, most of them were not found for a long time and decayed. In the present age with the number of nuclear families increasing, it's difficult to see and care for elderly parents living away. For such families, there are useful home appliances that will watch elderly parents for you. These household appliances have radio sensor connected to the Internet that send a message to the person's family every time they use the appliance. You can check how they are doing without going to meet them by checking their home appliance daily use with these "Mimamori Kaden" (Watchful Consumer Electronics).

Our parents worry about the harm of the Internet, and teachers tell us the dangers. Recently it seems the word "Internet" connotes something bad. But I think it's wonderful people can connect regardless of their location, age or gender. The use of the Internet is infinite.

Child Research Net would like to thank the Doshisha International Junior/Senior High School and Keina Irie, student and author, for permitting reproduction of this article on the CRN web site.