Facebook won't save you

Now in Britain you can report your Facebook friends who you think might need a little help. "The initiative was unveiled just weeks after it emerged that a British charity worker left a suicide note on Facebook but none of her 1,082 friends on the site responded. Some even mocked her note."

Now, the mocking part stings. It wasn't necessary in the article, but it does deliver a little slap. None of her over 1,000 friends took it seriously, and some even thought she was making a joke. It just goes to show that you have to take these things seriously.

I remember in high school a friend of mine told me how he was going to kill himself the next week. He had it all planned out, and man was it elaborate. I couldn't help myself - I went straight to the principal. I remember sitting in the office when they brought my friend in, and he glared at me. I was so scared that he would hate me, but I knew it had been the right thing to do. A few days later when he was back at school he thanked me for saving his life. I had helped someone listen to him. We're still friends (we even have matching tattoos) and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

I hope that one of my 364 friends would speak up for me if they saw something wrong on Facebook or Twitter. You hate to think technology makes you more alone, but it kind of does. People seem to distance themselves from real life and become friends in name only. I try to see those people as much as possible. Most of those people are family or family of close friends. It's good to keep everyone connected.