On high alert
Facebook has teamed up with the Samaritans to roll out a function allowing Facebook users to alert the police to any friends they think might be considering suicide.
According to The Guardian, the launch of the new alert system follows a number of cases where users reportedly posted messages on the site before attempting suicide. The situation was apparently thrown into sharp relief after Simone Back told her Facebook friends she had taken an overdose, but no-one alerted the authorities until the following day.
A help page will now reportedly be made available to the site's 30m UK users who can click on a link allowing them to post reports of people they fear might commit suicide. Facebook will then alert the police as well as passing alerts on to the Samaritans, a charity spokesman told the newspaper.
The Samaritans will also have an increased presence on the social network as concerned Facebookers will reportedly be directed to contact details for the charity in the UK and Ireland as well as parallel charities in the US and Norway, which have already been working with the website.
The Samaritans said the system was already being tested when Back posted her farewell Facebook message late on Christmas day, reportedly writing: "Took all my pills, be dead soon, bye bye everyone."
Apparently her ‘friends' taunted her and discussed the message instead of trying to help.
The charity is also reportedly launching an awareness campaign on Facebook to help people spot worrying signs and support friends.
Catherine Johnstone, CEO of The Samaritans, reportedly said: "Through the popularity of Facebook, we are harnessing the power of friendship so people can get help. As a friend you are better placed to know whether someone close to you is struggling to cope or even feeling suicidal. We want to remind people that if a friend says that life isn't worth living, they should always be taken seriously. Facebook is a part of daily life for so many of us and we must make sure that people online have support when they need it."
Facebook's director of policy for Europe, Richard Allan, said The Samaritans "will help to make our robust reporting system even more effective, as friends are encouraged to look out for one another on Facebook as they do in the real world."