Summary:
The charity has launched a service called Samaritans Radar, which helps and encourages Twitter users to support potentially depressed contacts.
The Samaritans, a charity devoted to preventing suicides, has launched a service that plugs into people’s Twitter accounts, then notifies them if anyone they follow is sounding like they might become suicidal.
The Samaritans Radar web app appeared on Wednesday, promising to “turn your social net into a safety net.” Once authorized to view the user’s timeline, the system looks for phrases such as “help me” and “tired of being alone”, then sends an email to the subscriber so they can offer support to the person typing such phrases.
“Samaritans Radar is in its infancy and won’t get it right every time – it’s not good at sarcasm or jokes yet! But there’s a way for you to give feedback on whether a Samaritans Radar alert was correct, so the service improves for everyone as it learns more,” the website reads.
I think this is a great idea, in theory at least. As people gather round the virtual rather than physical water-cooler, it’s easy to miss the sort of social cues that might suggest a friend or colleague is having a rough time. And, if you follow a lot of people on Twitter, potential cries for help might get lost in the stream without some kind of flagging aid.
The Samaritans already work with Twitter and Facebook as the social networks’ U.K. and Ireland suicide prevention partner – if someone reports someone else’s post as being of concern, Samaritans contact details are shared in those countries.