A 16 year old British teenager posted the following status update on his Facebook profile: “I’m going away to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while then everybody will find out.”
Would that occur to you as a pre-suicide statement?
Well, it did for a girl who had spotted the update and informed her mum about it. Very quickly, her mum alerted the police in Maryland, US and the news was then passed on to a White House Special Agent who later contacted the British Embassy in Washington DC.
The message finally reached the Metropolitan Police, who managed to detect the teenager’s house. A total of 5 different authorities were involved.
More from the Telegraph
“By the time he was found the boy had taken an overdose and was slumped on the floor, but they were just in time to get him to hospital and save him.
The Facebook message read: “I’m going away to do something I’ve been thinking about for a while then everybody will find out.”
His parents had been sitting downstairs the whole time, completely unaware of the unfolding drama.”
Look OUT! You could save a life
With increasing inclination to use Twitter and Facebook to update people about our daily lives, be sure to keep a lookout for friends who have suffered a recent setback or appear to be feeling down. After all, social media is more than just social-networking. Caring for the people virtually around you and adding color to people’s lives are perhaps still the top social media best practices.
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