With the internet, people can connect and communicate with others, even when they are halfway across the globe.
One unique thing that the internet has, is its ability to support platforms that make the communications happen, and to also make anything that happens involving it, to be documented forever.
And Kevin Neil Whitrick experienced this after his death.
The man from the UK was an electrical engineer, married to Paula, and had two children named Lewis and Melissa. The couple were married in 1988, but have lived apart for at least two years.
Whitrick was living in his apartment, while Laura and their two children were living in a three-bedroom, semi-detached house not far from him.
Whitrick killed himself live on a chatroon at PalTalk.
At the time, he was joined by some other users in a special "insult" chatroom, where members can freely roast and harass each other. It was during that time that Whitrick stood up on a chair, created a hole in the ceiling just above his head, placed a rope around a joist, tied the other end around his neck, and stepped off the chair to kill himself.
Whitrick who was wearing a blue T-shirt, took his own life after dozens of others in the chatfoom roasted him. When Whitrick was about to hang himself, people believed that he was only playing an act. But when Whitrick really hanged himself in front of others, live on the webcast, all watched in horror.
None expected this to happen.
Moderators on the site closed the feed from Whitrick's webcam soon after, and the police was alerted after one of the chatroom members contacted them.
The officers quickly rushed to Whitrick's home in the Wellington area of Shropshire within minutes, smashing down the door in an attempt to save him.
But when he was found, Whitrick's lifeless body was hanging just in front of his computer. Whitrick was pronounced dead at the scene.
Whitrick was 42.
It was later emerged that Whitrick was suffering from depression after being badly injured in a car crash a year before.
His friends said that the breakdown of his marriage with wife, Paula - with whom he had twins, and also after the death of his father, had taken a toll on Whitrick's mental health. This turned him emotional and causing him some distress.
Before killing himself, Whitrick had actually told some users of the webchat site PalTalk about his suicide plan, two hours before his suicide.
But since Whitrick, who was using the username 'Shyboy_17_1', was in a chatroom where members can insult each other, Whitrick that said he wanted to die, was considered bluffing by others. Members of the chatroom egged him, urged him to turn on his webcam.
After the incident, distraught users of the site said that they felt sick and had previously thought the web broadcast was a hoax.
According to reports, Whitrick was a family man, and worked at family firm RMW electrical services in Shrewsbury, at weekends.
"Kevin was a loving father and family man. He was always the life and soul of the party, an extremely considerate and kind person and loved by many, he will be so sadly missed by us all," Paula said. "Unfortunately Kevin had a very serious car accident in July 2006 and had never fully recovered back to full health."
Whitrick's death was publicized dur to the fear it might inspire more online suicides. At that time, the police traced and questioned about 100 people who were present in the chatroom. The Crown Prosecution Service stated that none of the chatroom users face criminal charges.