Researchers at Manchester Metropolitan University have developed a friendship app, the goal of which is to help persons who are at risk of attempting suicide to obtain help. Rescue Station was developed by Jenny Cole, a senior lecturer in psychology at the university, and Cathy Urquhart, a professor of digital and sustainable enterprise at the school. The two academicians teamed up to create the tool, which “allows the user to pre-arrange face-to-face support based on a traffic light system.”
Choosing the red option signals the need for urgent while green indicates they are doing well. The app puts potential suicide victims in touch with family and friends, unlike many of the current apps available from the Great Britain’s National Health System, which only offers information.
According to Professor Urquhart: “The app has the potential to help hundreds at risk including victims of bullying and abuse. It enables users to negotiate the precise type of support they need between themselves and a friend or family member.
The social negotiation between the supported and supporter is key in this application and it’s this aspect we wish to research and evaluate. Urquhart, Cole, and others at the University have been exploring the value of such “digital” friendships on social media sites as part of a larger research initiative that was recently debated at an ESRC Festival of Social Science Event.
Rescue Station is part of a growing trend in psychiatric research to explore the value and limitations of social media to improve mental health. A recent report in Psychiatric Times, for instance, points out that mobile apps are now available that use sensor data and self-reported information collected through a smartphone to help clinicians detect behavior that might indicate the need for additional help. Apps like ginger.io “also can monitor movement and communication patterns to determine whether someone has been isolating [themselves] from others, decreasing activity, or having changes in mood, all of which could be indicative of depression.”
