It just reminded them how shitty their lives were

Like how the more the US spends on science, space, and tech, the more people strangle themselves.
http://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=1597

By this I can deduce that the rise of technology has caused mass stupidity and suicides!

It's because people have more access to stupid. This either causes them to become stupid or want to escape the stupid, the best way being to kill themselves.

What's that dongle next to my name doing?

In such a case it's very likely that it's causal since all other variables are kept constant and any external events would have been cancelled out by time. Sure, maybe something happened out there like a company closing down causing a chain reaction. But such things happening exactly at the same time lasting indefinitely. Unlikely. It's wiser to assume causation and learn from the event and make the necessary changes. It would be irresponsible to use correlation as an excuse.

Here's another one: The more honey bees make in the US, the fewer people die by falling down stairs.
http://tylervigen.com/view_correlation?id=2306

This can only mean one thing...BEES PUSH PEOPLE DOWN STAIRS WHEN THEY GET FIRED!