Ways To Commit Suicide Google Search Changed in U.S.

Too Late To Prevent the Suicide of Phoebe Prince, But Google is Changing Search for 'Ways to Commit Suicide'

When Phoebe Prince committed suicide on January 14 2010, it is not known if she turned to the Internet for help or for guidance, but after the number of suicides have continued to rise, and so much free information about committing suicide can be found on the Internet, Google has changed their search results for 'ways to commit suicide'; in the United States at least.

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Now when someone in the United States types in to Google 'ways to commit suicide', or 'suicidal thoughts' a free hotline number will come up above the search results so that it is something the person will see first and will hopefully consider if they are having suicidal thoughts.

The search query does not work for anywhere outside the United States at this time, as we tried the search here at NowPublic and a banner did not appear, but a Google ad in the sidebar for a hotline did show up.

This is not the first time that Google has made a move in the public health's interests. Previously a mother complained to Google that she could not find any relevant information for a search query such as 'poison emergency' when her daughter swallowed something dangerous. Now Google offers links to a poison control hotline ahead of other pages on the subject. We tried it and with just a few clicks we found the number for the poison control centre in Vancouver, Canada.

The 'ways to commit suicide' search has not been perfected however, as searches such as 'ways to kill' or 'top ten ways to commit suicide' are still functioning as normal.