Social media giant Facebook has launched a new tool to assist users who are concerned that a friend might commit suicide. The tool will allow people to report certain posts. Facebook has been under pressure to launch such a tool following the deaths of many users who had posted worrying updates online.
If a post is flagged, links will appear on the screen prompting a user to message the person, ask another friend help or connect with a trained mental help professional. If Facebook thinks the user in question is distressed they will suggest ways of getting help next time they log on.
A university-based organisation called Forefront has been collaborating with Facebook and has created videos on tackling suicidal thoughts. Forefront operations manager Stephen Paul Millar said that one of his friends killed himself a number of years ago after posting a worrying message. Miller tried to call his friend in the morning but it was too late.
He said: “The thing that breaks my heart the most about this is that I think it was just episodic. I don’t think he wanted to die…but I was not trained. I did not know what to do.”
Facebook recently gave users more options on what will happen to their profiles after death.
