On Wednesday, Facebook announced a new tool that will allow users to report if their friend has posted updates that may suggest thoughts of suicide.
On the site’s Facebook Safety page, Product Manager Rob Boyle and Safety Specialist Nicole Staubli explained how the new tool will work.
Once the reports of posts that appear to be suicidal are received, a trained staff will review them and send the poster notifications of suicide prevention resources, if necessary.
The person who reported the posts will also get the option to call or message their friend as well as get advice from a trained professional.
Facebook partnered with Now Matters Now, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, Save.org and Forefront: Innovations in Suicide Prevention on this feature, The Huffington Post notes.
The new tool also provides users with relaxation techniques such as: baking, drawing, going for a walk or visiting a library and will help them find a self-care expert if they choose.
This feature is an update to the social media’s 2011 version that required users to upload screenshots or a link of the post to the suicide prevention page. Users now have the ability to report a post into the post itself, LA Times reports.
A spokesperson for Facebook told The Huffington Post, the new feature is now available to 50 percent of Facebook users in the U.S. and will roll out in the rest of the country over the next few months.
Image via Facebook from Facebook Safety
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