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Suggesting to anyone serious about suicide that an app will help is insulting. You have to be naive and unwilling to understand or a megalomaniac to think an ap

Suggesting to anyone serious about suicide that an app will help is insulting. You have to be naive and unwilling to understand or a megalomaniac to think an app will help.

vikp 13y ago
I have a painfully personal acquaintance with suicide. I agree that an app couldn't have done much for it after a certain point. But what causes people to be suicidal in the first place? In my experience, feeling like they don't matter. Apps by themselves can't do anything about that feeling, yes. But apps are used by people. And apps can help put you in touch with people who can change your life. Who can help you understand that you are important. Apps can also put you in touch with yourself, and help you grasp your own context. Perhaps this specific app will work, perhaps it won't, but writing off any and all apps seems a bit premature.
hfourm 13y ago
you are probably smarter than us
saturdayplace 13y ago
I'm definitely willing to be labeled naive. Would suggesting a call to a suicide hotline be as insulting? What if the app carries out similar functions as a hotline? Please, I'm not trying to troll, just trying to understand why the idea of this app is so repugnant. Also, while this specific app may not be able to help, doesn't it seem at least possible that some app, some day might? It seems prematurely dismissive to write apps off as wholly ineffectual. Unless suicide is a case where you're likely to do more harm than good?
- ancarda 13y ago
  >Would suggesting a call to a suicide hotline be as insulting? That depends a lot on context. In some cases, yes. >What if the app carries out similar functions as a hotline? Who would you talk to? A volunteer? What happens when 4chan gets their hands on this app? >Unless suicide is a case where you're likely to do more harm than good See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6757098 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6757098 As for displaying a hotline number, you can find that information on Google. Literally search "suicide" and the first thing listed is a phone number you can call for help. If the app is just a number of a suicide hotline, then it's a pretty pointless app. What may be more useful is a collection of services and communities (ie. suicide hotlines by state/country, communities like /r/SuicideWatch, general information). However, that sounds a lot like a website and not an app.

Suggesting to anyone serious about suicide that an app will help is insulting. You have to be naive and unwilling to understand or a megalomaniac to think an app will help.

vikp 13y ago

I have a painfully personal acquaintance with suicide. I agree that an app couldn't have done much for it after a certain point. But what causes people to be suicidal in the first place? In my experience, feeling like they don't matter. Apps by themselves can't do anything about that feeling, yes. But apps are used by people. And apps can help put you in touch with people who can change your life. Who can help you understand that you are important. Apps can also put you in touch with yourself, and help you grasp your own context. Perhaps this specific app will work, perhaps it won't, but writing off any and all apps seems a bit premature.

hfourm 13y ago

you are probably smarter than us

saturdayplace 13y ago

I'm definitely willing to be labeled naive. Would suggesting a call to a suicide hotline be as insulting? What if the app carries out similar functions as a hotline? Please, I'm not trying to troll, just trying to understand why the idea of this app is so repugnant. Also, while this specific app may not be able to help, doesn't it seem at least possible that some app, some day might? It seems prematurely dismissive to write apps off as wholly ineffectual. Unless suicide is a case where you're likely to do more harm than good?

ancarda 13y ago
>Would suggesting a call to a suicide hotline be as insulting? That depends a lot on context. In some cases, yes. >What if the app carries out similar functions as a hotline? Who would you talk to? A volunteer? What happens when 4chan gets their hands on this app? >Unless suicide is a case where you're likely to do more harm than good See: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6757098 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6757098 As for displaying a hotline number, you can find that information on Google. Literally search "suicide" and the first thing listed is a phone number you can call for help. If the app is just a number of a suicide hotline, then it's a pretty pointless app. What may be more useful is a collection of services and communities (ie. suicide hotlines by state/country, communities like /r/SuicideWatch, general information). However, that sounds a lot like a website and not an app.