Facebook’s New Tool Is Literally A Lifesaver!

It is not an unknown fact that suicide rates in the country are shooting up day after day. Your friend may literally be crying out for help and you wouldn’t know it. And with the amount of people choosing to end their lives in the blink of an eye, it’s very important to be aware of early signs of the same. In this case, Facebook has taken a stand in the fight to bringing down suicide rates.

Recently, Facebook announced the launch of its new tool that aims to help people who are suicidal or dealing with mental health issues. If you happen to come across a status on Facebook along the lines of “I am done with my life” or “Death is far more peaceful”, or other such alarming updates, you can take action and do your bit to help a person in need. If you do not want to reach out directly, Facebook has come up with an alternative.

It allows you to flag posts of this kind, anonymously. Once you do that, a series of questions will need to be answered by you post which the operations team will review the post. If they believe that someone is genuinely in danger, the reported person will be given several options when they log in next. From contacting a friend, to dialing a hotline and getting more helpful tips on dealing with depression and self-harm, the operations team will take all necessary steps to ensure that the person receives help.

 

 

In India, this tool will be available in Hindi and English. Facebook has teamed up with AASRA and the Live Love Laugh Foundation for this initiative. Users whose posts seem self-damaging and/or dangerous will be given options to contact the AASRA India helpline or the Live Love Laugh Foundation. If the concern is unfounded and unnecessary, the user can simply go back to his or her homepage.

“We have teams working around the world, 24/7, who review reports that come in. They prioritise the most serious reports like self-injury and send help and resources to those in distress,” said Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook India, South & Central Asia to Indian Express.

While Facebook claims to maintain the reporter’s anonymity by keeping details under wraps, it does seem to invade on the privacy of the reported. Be that as it may, we cannot deny the fact that this new tool might go on to prove very, very useful someday!