Actually, if you compare to that age group specifically, it would seem to make the number even "better". In America, suicides in the age group of 15 to 24 are the third leading cause of death, with 4000 suicides in 2004 [1] (whereas if you compare to the general population here it is the 11th leading cause of death).
Of course, its difficult comparing suicide rates in different countries, and other factors may be at play, but this just goes to show that suicides are not a good metric to make this otherwise perfectly valid point (when more teenagers kill themselves here than in foxconn plants, the argument becomes more difficult that everyone is killing themselves because things are so terrible). Suicide itself is an incredibly complex topic that should probably not be trivialized. This is of course not to say conditions there are in any way good, they're not. I just think its better to rely on the other much more ample and obvious evidence.
"Actually, if you compare to that age group specifically, it would seem to make the number even "better". In America, suicides in the age group of 15 to 24 are the third leading cause of death, with 4000 suicides in 2004 [1] (whereas if you compare to the general population here it is the 11th leading cause of death)."
Not necessarily. The #10 cause for the general population may be deadlier than the #1 cause for 15-24 year olds. That Here are some made up numbers:
15-24 year olds: 0.1% deaths/year, of which 10% due to suicide
general population: 1% deaths per year, of which 5% due to suicide
That would have 0.01% of all 15-24 commit suicide each year, but 0.05% of the general population.
As I said, I made up the numbers. However, I do not think they are completely out of range. 1% deaths in a stable population gives a life expectancy of 100 years, but the US population is growing and hence relatively young. Also, looking at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr60/nvsr60_03.pdf, Figure 3, I think 1% is a reasonable guess at that figure.
The x% due to suicide numbers likely are exaggerations (a Zipf curve will have trouble getting to 5% in rank 10)
jotux said age and 100% employment, so specifically said that "other factors may be in play." BTW, some 17.6% of the US population between 15 and 24 are unemployed.
Of course, its difficult comparing suicide rates in different countries, and other factors may be at play, but this just goes to show that suicides are not a good metric to make this otherwise perfectly valid point (when more teenagers kill themselves here than in foxconn plants, the argument becomes more difficult that everyone is killing themselves because things are so terrible). Suicide itself is an incredibly complex topic that should probably not be trivialized. This is of course not to say conditions there are in any way good, they're not. I just think its better to rely on the other much more ample and obvious evidence.
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_suicide_in_the_United_S...