Suicide continues to be a huge problem, particularly for young people, as statistics show that one person commits suicide in the world every 40 seconds. And since Facebook is still a huge part of their social media experience, the company knows that they would have to strengthen their support and tools for suicide prevention, not just through the brand itself but even more so with the friendships and personal connections on the network. They have now announced new tools through Facebook Live, Messenger, and streamlined reporting through artificial intelligence.
Facebook’s suicide prevention tools have actually existed for 10 years already, but now they’re improving it and integrating it into some of the newer features of the network, like Facebook Live. If you’re watching one that raises your concern about your friend’s well-being, you can reach out to the person and also report the video to Facebook directly. If you’re the one doing the live video, you will then see a set of resources on your screen and you have a choice to reach out to one of your friends or get in touch with a help line.
Since a lot of users may be on Messenger more than on the main Facebook app itself, their crisis support centers are also now reachable through the messaging app. You will now have the option to chat with someone in real time through the participating organizations like Crisis Text Line, National Eating Disorder Association, and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. They are also testing this out to see if organizations will be able to support any volume of communication that may be coming their way.
The reporting process for any posts/friends that may be suicide-related is also a bit easier now. They are also using artificial intelligence for pattern recognition on any previous posts that may be related to the topic. So even if someone doesn’t report it, if an account or post has been flagged, they will send resources and options to the person involved. It may be a bit intrusive for some people, but they are testing this out in limited fashion in the US to see how they technology and social networks can help in suicide prevention.
SOURCE: Facebook
