Erm...
... isn't this the sort of thing that got The Samaritans into trouble not so long ago?
The signs of future suicide often pop up on social media, so Facebook has partnered with the University of Washington (UW) to roll out new tools that can hopefully provide a lifeline to those in need. "Often, friends and family who are the observers in this situation don't know what to do," said Holly Hetherington, a …
... isn't this the sort of thing that got The Samaritans into trouble not so long ago?
It seems to be the exact opposite. Instead of a machine reading all your friend's posts and giving you a warning if they're feeling depressed/suicidal, which is very much abusable, this is a button YOU can press if YOU think your friend is feeling depressed/suicidal, which prompts Facebook to have a look at that person's recent history and offer help to the depressed/suicidal person.
This means that there's no machine reading of your posts because your friend signed up to something (Okay, Facebook, there's machine reading of your posts anyways) and your 'friends' aren't be alerted by Facebook. Abusing this feature would be a lot harder because presumably if a malicious party started reporting random/harmless things, they'd just get banned and if you make a fake account under someone's name to make them look suicidal, well, you could already do that just fine, this function doesn't change anything about that.
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I'm sure you'll get ads from "random" head hunters for doctors too. Well, maybe not yet, because Facebook hasn't partnered with enough of them (yet, hence the "caring").
BTW, is this REALLY legal? What if you decided to kill yourself because of something Facebook mentioned? This sort of thing is very creppy, and very intrusive for the almighty dollar.
while the level of disconnect is going to be a curious modifier in an actual suicidal situation, some action has to be better than none?
but my cynical me just think it's just going to get abused by a load of teens making a pouty face. poor little boo boo's and their "FML, homework" tantrums.
Is this not just a bit of a facebook social twist on Clippy?
"{friendname} says that it looks like you are trying to kill your self, would you like some help with that
- Yes please, I can't go on
- Please ignore, I am just whoring for attention
- Please ignore, {friendname} is just being a dick"
Your mental health is between YOU and a HEALTHCARE PROFFESSIONAL, no one else.
Even a well meaning individual can cause a lot of grief with this "suicide prevention" function as people tend to put their own feelings into the equation rather than being objective. One mans "sadness" is anothers "suicidal".
Imagine if all of a sudden, the police show up at your workplace with an ambulance and take you away for two weeks for a "mental health evaluation", all on the word of some "Wastebooker".
Yeah, I can see potential for abuse. Most employers would take a dim view of such a pickup by the looney bin. For the record, I ended up there when my wife left me; but I went voluntarily because I knew the signs.
Isn't there already a phenomonon called "Swatting" where some basement dweller calls out the local police Swat Team on some innocent person? This is an extension of that.
The whole thing with these Facebook types reminds of the Hitler Youth ratting on their parents.
None of this nonsense will solve anything and likely make it worse..
FFS, Facebook with its virtualised replacement for real human content, through which it allows uncensored untrammeled abuse, bullying, victimisation and exploitation, is one of the major causes of depression and suicide in existence today.
Essentially its a business model which gains cashflow by exploiting the misery of the sad bastards who have abnegated real live and who instead survive in the misery, mire and malicious mediocrity of Facebooks cynically open leech-like arms. Join Facebook and your brain is mushed, you lose your friends, and become the laughing stock of all who become aware of you.
What if the person doesnt respond......or responds that they are in the process of getting it over with? Does FB send the police or the guys with white scrubs to send you to the funny farm for a 72 hour hold? I would be so pissed at that so-called friend for telling on me instead of BEING A FRIEND.and sending me a cheery post themselves........but then again I HAVE NO FRIENDS so I shouldnt worry about this kind of thing, right?