How would you create a feature on Facebook to combat depression, suicidality and self-harm?

Introduction

Creating a feature on Facebook to combat depression, suicidality, and self-harm is a critical and sensitive task. This challenge requires a delicate balance between providing support, maintaining user privacy, and ensuring the overall well-being of the Facebook community. I'll approach this by first clarifying the scope, then analyzing the problem space, identifying user segments and pain points, proposing solutions, and finally defining success metrics.

Step 1

Clarifying Questions (3 minutes)

• Based on the problem description, I'm thinking this is specifically for Facebook's existing platform. Is that correct?

Why it matters: Helps frame the solution within Facebook's ecosystem and constraints Expected answer: Yes, it's for Facebook's main platform Impact on approach: Would leverage existing Facebook features and align with current product suite

• Given the sensitive nature of this feature, I'm assuming there might be some existing research or data on user behavior related to mental health on the platform. Is this assumption correct?

Why it matters: Informs the baseline for our solution and helps identify gaps Expected answer: Yes, there's some internal data available Impact on approach: Would use existing insights to guide feature development and prioritization

• Considering the global reach of Facebook, should we focus on a specific region or demographic for the initial rollout, or aim for a global solution from the start?

Why it matters: Affects the scope and complexity of the initial solution Expected answer: Start with a specific region or demographic Impact on approach: Would tailor the solution to a specific user group before scaling globally

Propose the Goal

Given Facebook's focus on connecting people and fostering communities, I believe the goal is to create a feature that proactively identifies users at risk of depression, suicidality, or self-harm, and provides them with immediate, appropriate support while respecting their privacy. Does this align with your vision?

Define the Scope

Should we focus on developing a feature that integrates seamlessly into the existing Facebook newsfeed and messaging experiences for this product design challenge?

Based on the answers, I'll assume we're developing a feature for Facebook's main platform, targeting a specific demographic initially, with access to some existing research on mental health-related user behavior.