Last week I got a call from a Journalist at BBC Radio Sussex informing that a lady called Simone Back committed suicide on Christmas Day. This wasn’t any ordinary death as she had announced her intentions to commit suicide to her 1000 Facebook friends – with only several malicious responses. As her death took place on Facebook the BBC wanted to understand my opinion on the situation and then interview me on their breakfast show the following day.
Image may be NSFW.
Clik here to view.
BBC Radio Sussex is based in Brighton, the same area in which this lady died and I knew there was a high possibility that friends and family could very well be listening to the developments of this story over the airwaves. I agreed to be featured on their programme and started to write down my various views on the situation.
Before going on the radio I find that writing a list of key bits of information extremely useful. Sometimes the nature of a programme refrains from this activity. For example being on radio debate panels requires quick of wit and thought rather than a carefully written series of thoughts. Tone of voice in this story was critical, no jokes of any sort and a clearly laid list of different points to why Simone Back’s friends may not have come to the rescue.
Always remember this; the answer is never as simple as a news story makes out to be. Journalists only gather news and their opinions have to be simple (unless they are columnist’s scribe) as a story must be easily communicable, especially over the radio. Before going live on the radio I wrote down this list of thoughts:
Genovese Syndrome
Kitty Genovese was the name of a lady who was murdered in 1964. The murder took place in full public view for about 30 minutes but yet no witnesses came forward despite at least 30 people be present around the time of the murder. This gained the attention of the world’s media and raised many questions concerning human behaviour. A few years later an American Psychologist published an article explaining the behaviour of bystanders at the murder who did not attempt to get involved with the situation. Eventually Genovese Syndrome was postulated insinuating that when humans are in large numbers less are likely to get involved in order to manage information overload.
Information Overload
There is no doubt that Facebook has an issue with information overload. Indeed every social network suffers from the same problem of constant updates. The larger your network, the more widespread your influence but an increased amount of information. Simone Back’s Facebook network was 1000 friends big and the huge numbers of contacts may have meant a less likely chance of engagement.
Engagement
(Similar to my Information Overload point) In social media terms large networks are not always the best. The real value from social media comes by evaluating the levels of engagement. The trick is to create an online community, a task which is not easy as it requires to bond humans together. The larger networks can be far tougher to manage due to the high numbers of people necessary to reach out to. Too many people, too much information and not a lot of engagement.
Difference between “Friends” and “Contacts”
Facebook was initially built as private social network between different University students which is why the term “Friend” is probably still used on the site today. Yet, not all of your Facebook friends are indeed friends. I have contacts on my Facebook from people who have added me after only meeting me once over a year ago. Even people from Secondary School. These people aren’t my friends, Facebook doesn’t recognise the difference between friends and mere contacts. In my view I can’t believe Simone Back had 1000 friends, nobody has that many friends. Instead much of her network was probably contacts, acquaintances and so reading headlines “Simone Back Announces Suicide On Facebook –And None Of Her Friend Help” does irritate me a bit.
Facebook’s Responsibility
An inevitable outcome through the discussions of this tragic news story have been for Facebook’s involvement in Simone Back’s death. As the company who owns the social network where she decided to announce her death surely they should be some sort of responsibility on their part? Many views on BBC Radio Sussex were quick to call for a Facebook Panic Button, this would raise police concern over future serious Facebook status updates. Facebook do have a Help Centre but it is the most complicated piece of Facebook to navigate around. I can’t even find a relevant section.
Facebook are a strange breed of company. All of their money making tactics depends upon the large wealth of personal information they hold on their databases. A company who provides a social network also has the responsibility to safely manage a community. You would not have a city without police and so why abandon the police on the online equivalent?
On the radio I reminisced over online Forum systems who use moderators to organise and filter discussion. Perhaps Facebook should introduce something similar. I understand this could be awkward regarding privacy settings but a simple option in the profile would sort that problem out.
If Simone Back’s suicide message could have been reported then it is likely she may still be alive today. Facebook can’t refer the responsibility to Simone’s suicidal status to her contact list but instead should flag security to this message immediately. Finding how Facebook should do this is the tricky part but without a doubt Facebook hold some responsibility.
Discussing this story was a learning curve for me due to the possible emotional implications that could have been caused to her family. I only decided to take the story to straighten out public opinion, as I can relate to it personally due to an event that happened a couple of years ago and because Simone Back’s mother was the one to have approached the media first. Simone Back’s family and friends have my condolences during this difficult time. What a horrid way to begin 2011.
The post Facebook needs to take Responsibility: Simone Back’s Death appeared first on michaelwhite.online.