With great social media comes great responsibility. When it comes to Facebook statuses, many of us share intimate moments of our lives, whether that be the death of a relative, a wedding, or even the birth of a family member. However, sometimes we share our deepest, darkest thoughts too.
Facebook has realised that sometimes, people may put up statuses that are concerning. Well-meaning friends may contact the originator of the status, though some friends may not feel comfortable doing so.
Therefore, they have come up with a genius idea. Basically, it's a way in which you can express concern for a friend, but do it anonymously.
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According to Mashable, this new feature will allow users to report the post to Facebook so that the writer of the status can be connected to mental health professionals, suicide helplines or even reach out to a friend they trust via message. There are also self-help suggestions and resources.
These 'flagged' posts are also monitored by teams who work 24/7 worldwide. Any posts that raise serious concern in terms of self-harm, etc. are put forward as a priority.
Facebook sends the originator of the status a pop up, and they can choose what to do.
Credit: Facebook
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Facebook is working in collaboration with mental health organisations Aasra and the Live Love Laugh Foundation. The latter was set up by Bollywood actress Deepika Padukone after she opened up and spoke publicly about her struggle with depression. This was especially important as mental health is apparently still considered as a bit of a 'social taboo' in India.
She said: "The rate of suicide amongst the youth in India is one of the highest in the world. It is especially important to reach out to young people out there who are feeling depressed and encourage them to reach out for help.
"The society as a whole needs to be educated about this so that we are sensitised to signs of depression in our friends, neighbours and relatives and can guide them towards expert assistance."
Hopefully, this is something that will soon be introduced worldwide.
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Words by Mel Ramsay
Featured image credit: PA Images
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Mental Health, Facebook, India