The family of a 15-year-old girl who hanged herself from a tree says the teen was driven to suicide by an allergy to something that is nearly inescapable in our modern world — Wi-Fi.
Jenny Fry, 15, suffered from an acute case of electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome, which causes blinding headaches and nausea when victims come in contact with the kind of EM fields created by wireless hot spots, according to the Daily Mirror.
“Jenny was getting ill and so was I,” her mother, Debra Fry, told a court inquest in their home town of Chadlington, England. “I did some research and found how dangerous Wi-Fi could be so I had it taken out of the house.”
Fry says the problem was especially bad at school, where many of the classrooms had their own Wi-Fi, explaining the torment drove her daughter to skip class and act out.
The mom told the court she had pleaded with her daughter’s teachers to allow her to work in rooms without Wi-Fi, but the school refused.
“The least they could do was allow her to take [classes] in rooms where she felt able to concentrate, but they wouldn’t listen,” Debra Fry said.
Fry’s body was found hanged in a tree near her home in the county of Oxfordshire this past June.
“I fully believe Jenny did not intend to take her own life,” her mom said.
At the inquest on Nov. 19, the coroner said he could not conclusively say the young teen meant to kill herself. He did not attribute her death to electromagnetic hypersensitivity syndrome either, as there are no medical documents to prove it, according to the Oxford Mail.
Fry left a suicide note.
“I am insignificant, an insignificant number on someone’s screen and so is my life, a tiny blip in the whole existence of the universe,” she wrote. “And I find it hard to be hopeful when I can hardly enjoy anything anymore.”
Since her death over the summer, Fry’s parents have started raising awareness about EHS and the supposed dangers of Wi-Fi.
“I am not against a bit of technology, but I do feel schools should be aware that some children are going to be sensitive to it and reduce its use,” Debra told the Daily Mirror.
The World Health Organization says EHS symptoms — which include headaches, nausea, fatigue and rashes — are real, though several studies conducted so far have been unable to conclusively link them to Wi-Fi.