When is a Facebook post just a Facebook post, and when is it a cry for help?
That’s a tough question, whether you are the person writing or the friend reading, and Facebook recognizes that. The social network recently announced a new tool to report threats of suicide and other troubling or distressing content.
In other words, a few clicks could save a life.
It’s simple. Report the content just as you would any other content by clicking on the arrow in the upper-right-hand corner of the post. Choose “I think it shouldn’t be on Facebook” followed by “It’s hurtful, threatening or suicidal” and then “I think they might hurt themselves.” At this point, you’ll see a “What You Can Do” screen which offers steps you can take to help the person and then an option to have Facebook review the post. Facebook will then determine whether there’s a cause for concern — the company says it has teams around the world working 24/7 that review and prioritize all reports.
It’s a robust new tool we all hope we never need, but other social networks also have tools dedicated to suicide prevention and self-harm.
Twitter has a form you can fill out at support.twitter.com
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which goes to the Trust & Safety team. After the team examines the report, it will reach out to the reported user and let them know that someone was concerned enough to write. It will them provide resources and encourage the person to get help.On Instagram, you can report any photo by clicking the three dots below the post and tapping “report inappropriate.” Then, choose “this photo puts people at risk — self-harm. Instagram says it will review and try to reach out to the person with more information and links to support sites. You can find this information and read more by starting at help.instagram.com. Instagram is owned by Facebook, but there’s no indication whether Facebook’s new tools will be implemented in a similar way on Instagram.
Pinterest offers help too at help.pinterest.com. The platform clearly states that it doesn’t “allow anything on Pinterest that promotes self-harm, eating disorders or hard drug abuse. It suggests reporting it and it will get in touch with the person who posted it.
It’s safe to say that even if you can’t find a dedicated spot on your social network of choice that you should always reach out to its support team via email if you see something alarming. And if you can’t find the section at the URLs I provided, a quick Google search for the name of the platform and suicide self-harm works just as well.
And no matter which platform you use, contact local authorities in that person’s area first if you are faced with a situation that seems time sensitive or dire.
I once helped someone in need, and reporting it to a social network wasn’t an option. So I’m happy the tools exist now. It’s just one more way to help someone, and sometimes that’s all you need to make a world of difference.
Have questions about social media? Tweet them to @scottkleinberg with hashtag #SoSocial. He might use yours in a future column.