Develop Alert System For Suicidal Social Media Posts

A 16-year-old girl killed herself after majority in an Instagram poll supported her choice to die.

KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 — The Malaysian Psychiatric Association (MPA) has called for an alert system to notify relevant parties about suicidal posts on social media after a teenager killed herself.

The Star reported MPA patron Lee Lam Thye as saying that awareness campaigns on mental health must also be organised.

“In the case of this latest incident, it was five hours from the time of her suicidal posting till her suicidal act, and there was no alert system in place for intervention,” Lee was quoted saying in a statement today.

“For young people, mental immaturity may cause them to be easily influenced by online content, including games and social media.”

A 16-year-old girl from Kuching, Sarawak, allegedly took her own life Monday night, just hours after running an Instagram poll asking her followers to help her choose between life and death. More than two-thirds, 69 per cent, voted death.

The teenager, who allegedly died by suicide in Batu Kawa, had also allegedly posted on Facebook: “Wanna Quit F**king Life I’m Tired”.

Lee noted that according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey 2017 on mental health among youths, one out of five adolescents feels depressed and two out of five feel anxious. About 11 per cent have suicidal ideation, while about 10 per cent have attempted suicide.

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