Facebook Reaches Out to Depressed Users
Suicide Prevention Program Includes Live Chat
Facebook and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline have announced a new program designed to help prevent suicide. Although the two groups have been working together since 2006, the new initiative will allow suicidal social networking users the option of entering a live chat with a depression expert.
Facebook announced the new initiative on Tuesday. It involves expanding the site's five-year-old partnership with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by adding live chat to phone calling as a medium for discussing depression, anxiety and suicide. The program is now live and available 24 hours a day.
The program works by increasing awareness about depression and suicide. It gives Facebook users concerned about a friend's depression the option to contact Facebook about the issue, which would in turn send a link to the troubled individual. That link, should the Facebook user choose to click it, would lead them to a live chat with a specialist trained in suicide prevention. In the past, Facebook users wanting help with depression and anxiety could contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline but only via phone. Now, they can find themselves connected with a professional in what many might consider a more private and comforting online environment.
Facebook Public Policy Manager Fred Wolens says the new program is designed to get people help quickly, efficiently, and privately. "One of the big goals here is to get the person in distress into the right help as soon as possible," Wolens said.
For those concerned that the new program might involve Facebook staff perusing News Feeds or status updates for content that could indicate depression or anxiety, there's no cause for worry. Facebook is relying entirely on its community to bring these kinds of matters to light. The social networking firm recognizes that to get involved directly would alarm users concerned about privacy -- already a touchy topic for Facebook.
"The only people who will have a really good idea of what’s going on is your friends so we’re encouraging them to speak up and giving them an easy and quick way to get help," Wolens said.
Lifeline Associate Project Director Lidia Bernik thinks the program offers privacy while also getting Faceboo users the help they need as quickly as possible. "The science shows that people experience reductions in suicidal thinking when there is quick intervention," Bernik said.
The new Facebook-Lifeline initiative is now available.
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