Life is hard. And no matter how fortunate you are, no matter how much money you make, there will be times in your life that will test your limits, physically, mentally, emotionally, or a combination of all three. Personally, I have gone through such phases in my life. I have had close family pass away, reconsidered my major and what I was and wanted to do with my life, and have gone through periods of mild depression and anxiety. When I was in high school, especially, I felt as though I didn't belong anywhere. I had what they call "friends", but I was always the one left out of the fun and at one point in time they even turned their backs on me for no apparent reason whatsoever. I felt completely invisible and empty. To tell you the truth, the thought of what would happen if I were no longer on this earth did cross my mind. Thankfully, I was able to move past these difficult moments in my life with the help of those who love me, my parents in particular. For some, however, this is not enough. There is no on or off switch they can control to make the depression go away. They are in a hole and no matter how hard they try they cannot get out. You can never truly know what is going on in someone's mind, which is the scariest part. The people behind the internet and today's technology are realizing that, and are graciously doing means necessary to help.
One of the newest additions to features that aid in the mental health of others online comes from Facebook. Facebook is partnering with Now Matters Now, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Save.org, and Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention in order to help alert Facebook if someone is having thoughts of self harm. As stated by an article by Alexis Kleinman on The Huffington Post,
"If a Facebook friend posts something that you feel indicates he or she could be thinking about self harm, you'll be able to click the little arrow at the top right of the post and click "Report Post." There, you'll be given the options to contact the friend who made the post, contact another friend for support or contact a suicide helpline. . . After that, Facebook will look at the post. If Facebook feels like the post indicates distress, it will contact the person who posted it."
Along with this, Facebook provides options for talking to a friend, a self-care expert, or even simple relaxation techniques. I wholeheartedly agree with this. With our society and its needs shifting to completely digital, how others express themselves is now, more often than not, done by using a digital medium. Also, even though it is a terribly difficult time for the person going through depression and suicidal thoughts, those who love them are going through just as difficult a time. All they want to do is help, and most of the time, they can't figure out what to do or how to go about doing it. This would allow the bystanders an easier way to get their significant others the help they need. Facebook has been supportive of suicide prevention, but this additional step puts Facebook a step above the rest.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/25/facebook-suicide-prevention_n_6754106.html
It's a nice gesture, but this honestly sounds like something straight out of the Onion. "Facebook interacts with your friends so you don't have to."
ReplyDeleteIf you actually thought one of your friends was suicidal, wouldn't you want to reach out to them personally? I fear that a "report post" for suicidal behavior will only lessen the chances that someone actually engages with the person in need, since it grants that "well, I did what I can" feeling. This seems like just another way in which the Internet makes personal communication impersonal.
Also, there are going to be so many false alarms from this that soon enough it won't mean anything. Many teens, like you mentioned yourself, have anxiety or troubling thoughts, and acting suicidal is one way to get attention. I don't have any statistics on Facebook and suicide, but I highly doubt that there is a high correlation between Facebook messages and actual suicide. The ones who are most at risk probably aren't posting Facebook messages about how sad they are.
I partially agree with Terrance. If I knew of a friend or family member who was having depression troubles, I think a reaching out to them in person is a significantly better option than through a medium like Facebook. It's too impersonal and removed from emotional connection to the person: you don't get a sense of how they truly feel. I think contacting the friend would be the primary option, to see if you can help them through that difficult time, but it would be more impactful if it were face-to-face, rather than via a Facebook message.
ReplyDeleteI dig the idea of Facebook wanting to help and give others options to help with these issues. With the widespread popularity of the social medium, I like the initiative they're taking. However, a bigger issue is how do we address the non-Facebook users and those who aren't posting on Facebook during their more depressing moments? As Terrance said, certain people may not interact with social networking sites if they're seriously depressed, so it comes down to the people who are close to and know the person, where a face-to-face interaction might be more helpful.