Australian youth will be able to help prevent their peers take their lives with world-first guidelines about how to safely talk about suicide online at their fingertips.
Orygen, a national centre of excellence in youth mental health, will release its evidence-based guidelines on Tuesday which aim to help youth safely talk online about suicide.
The organisation's head of suicide prevention research, Jo Robinson, said there had previously been little information available to youth to safety discuss suicide online.
"Young people use social media all the time to talk about suicide-related thoughts, feelings and behaviours," Dr Robinson said.
"It's really challenging, because although young people don't do that with any intent to cause harm or distress to others, we know that certain types of communication about suicide can lead to contagion or copycat-type instances.
"We really believe that by equipping young people with the skills to have these conversations safely, we will be able to save young lives."
Youth who are trying to help friends at risk of suicide, who come across suicide-related content posted by others or who want help for suicidal feelings could turn to the guidelines.
The guide also walks youth through how to comment on memorial posts, appropriate language and images to use and how to share personal experiences of suicidal behaviour.
Parents, teachers and mental health professionals may also use the guidelines, which were developed in partnership between Oryen and young people.
Zoe, a girl who helped developed the guidelines, said youth talked about suicide every day on social media and the guidelines were needed "now, more than ever".
The federal government, under the National Suicide Prevention Leadership and Support Program, funded the work.
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