Earlier if a feeling low today popped up on your Facebook wall you would respond with a sympathetic emoji, and scroll down, but now Facebook aware of the moods of more than a billion users has decided to launch a set of suicide prevention tools on the website to interfere and allow members to help each other. A person who is worried about a friend’s post can flag it and immediately a team from Facebook reviews the post and sends an automated message to the individual concerned, giving them not only suicide hotline numbers but also suggestions regarding how to cope with the problem that they are facing, by providing the user the choice of either talking to friends or reaching out to local mental health organizations.
Though Facebook has the best of intentions, quite a few mental health professionals in Bengaluru are worried as to how it will affect users. A professor at Azim Premji University, Shreelata Rao said that someone facing difficulties would probably like to have a personal touch. This seems very distant, and it could be used irresponsibly by the person reporting the post. But the director of AASRA, Johnson Thomas said that people would be encouraged to call out in case they know someone they think needs help only due to the confidentiality of the process. He said through the tool, it is not necessary for anyone to know you’re seeking help. Even if it is a false alarm, it could help the person who posted the message.
Ennis Jose, co-founder of Talk it Over Counselling said it is a non-human interface so there’s no emotional entity involved. I’m a little sceptical about how effective it would be if you did not know who reported you. He added that if the person is feeling challenged, stressed, or depressed, the message may possibly give the person the push to talk about what he or she is going through. A Bengaluru-based business consultant Subrata Pradhan, said if it’s a friend, I’d rather call the person or his/her parents to find out how they are doing. Also, Facebook closed the incident with a suggestion to approach law enforcement officials. So I’d rather do that directly than go through the hassle of finding the page for raising a report.