Facebook launches new feature to help prevent suicides

FACEBOOK is enlisting the help of its more than one billion users to help their digital peers who post suicidal messages.

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FACEBOOK has launched a new suicide prevention feature to help users who post troubling messages.

If someone shares a video, picture or status update suggesting they are thinking about suicide or self-harm, their Facebook friends can click an arrow on the post to report it.

When the user next logs into FaceboOk, they have the option of contacting their concerned friend, getting help from another friend or getting in touch with a suicide prevention helpline.

The Facebook support posts will look like this:

Facebook support post. Picture: Facebook

Suicide prevention feature. Picture: Facebook

According to a Facebook announcement, the updates will work for users in the US over the next few months, with the social networking site “working to improve our tools for those outside the US.”

Facebook said it partnered with organisations such as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline and Save.org to rollout the desktop and mobile phone support service.

“One of the first things these organisations discussed with us was how much connecting with people who care can help those in distress,” Facebook product manager Rob Boyle and community operations safety specialist Nicole Staubli said in a Facebook post.

“We have teams working around the world, 24/7, who review any report that comes in. They prioritise the most serious reports, like self-injury, and send help and resources to those in distress.”

Post by Facebook Safety.

Boyle and Staubli said if anyone sees a direct threat of suicide on the social media site, they should contact emergency services immediately.

Facebook users have been able to report potentially suicidal content since 2011 by uploading screenshots or a link to the company’s suicide prevention page.

If you or someone you know needs help, please contact Lifeline on 13 11 14.