I’ve got a new piece up today on the Daily Beast looking at the relationship between social media and suicide.
There is a prevailing sense among people of a certain age that kids who are sitting alone in front of their computers all the time are failing to build social skills.
But the experts in public health I talked with saw it differently. “Kids today are experts in their friends moods,” was how Christopher Le put it. Le helped write the suicide protocols for Myspace and Facebook and now runs his own company, Emotion Technology, that works on public health in the new media sphere.
I think Le’s point is important. There is definitely a sensation on services like Facebook and Twitter of constant contact. This is no substitute for deep friendships. But when a person puts out a cry for help, friends, onlookers, even strangers now respond.
Ben – great article. I agree that social networking has carved a new space for genuine relationships, and even those that appear to save people’s lives. How cool is that. I guess we have to remind ourselves of the days when snail mail was the method of reaching out, let alone twitter/etc.
On another note, good seeing you at our alumni function last night! All the best to you – looks like you’re doing quite well