Lifeline hopes to reach out to people in remote areas who have limited access to help. Picture: ThinkStock Source: news.com.au 
Nearly half of Lifeline's chat users are from remote areas of the country. Picture: Aurelie Perthius, news.com.au. Source: news.com.au WE live our lives on the internet. It's what we do.
It's 2012 and, as many lament technology's role in the death of conversation, we must cherish technology's role in bringing us together.
Nine in 10 young Australians use the internet daily. That's a fact. Here's another: Suicide is the leading cause - at a rate of one in four - of death among men aged 15-24.
This is where online mental healthcare, or "e-care", comes in. Services like Lifeline's online crisis chat help people communicate, in 2012 and beyond, in a way they understand and in a manner they feel comfortable.
Young Australians who think about suicide are strongly opposed to seeking help. In fact, one in four young Australians experience a mental illness, yet 70 per cent of them will never seek help. That's why mental health organisations are adapting, and moving the mountain to Mohamed.
Reaching new people
Lifeline's trials revealed that more than a third of those who used their online chat service would not seek help from other modes.
The bottom line is this: services like Lifeline's Online Crisis Support Chat Service are reaching people that would otherwise be at risk of slipping through the cracks. One in three people told us exactly that.
This strong preference for online crisis support is significant but also unsurprising and reiterates the imperative for mental healthcare services to invest in technology.
Lifeline's service can connect people in need for $31. This provides roughly an hour of counselling, which can be enough to save a person's life.
Mark, a Lifeline online crisis supporter, told news.com.au he personally spoke to a high number of people in need who, without an online service, would not have otherwise sought help.
"We're reaching people with some really significant issues who haven't reached out before," he said.
"It's a first safe step for them to ask for help and for them to take that first step. Often that's a younger demographic."
The range of issues reported by Lifeline crisis support users. Picture: Aurelie Perthius, news.com.auGeneration Tech
On the subject of technology's role in confronting suicide, blogger Mia Freedman wrote:
"(My friend) thinks more public discussion about suicide (and especially the mental illnesses that cause it such as depression) is crucial. According to Michael Carr-Gregg, it can be a powerful medium where marginalised, disaffected, disaffiliated young people at risk of suicide are able to come into contact with support at sites such as Beyondblue.org.au. And psychologists are increasingly moving into cyberspace with counselling sessions by kidshelpline and reachout now available online."
Lifeline shares this desire to innovate and to "provide services in ways that work for people, in ways that people need, in a medium that they feel comfortable in".
"Going online makes sense to us, because we know we can reach a whole new audience of people in crisis," said Lifeline spokesman Chris Wagner.
"Young people like to seek help online. So Lifeline must be there for them."
Let's take this online
Lifeline is not alone.
The Government's roll-out of the National Broadband Network will put high-speed internet into more homes in the country than ever before. This makes it easier for organisations like Lifeline to attract people in remote areas, who may otherwise struggle to reach out for counselling by traditional means.
The NBN roll-out will see more of the country connected to high-speed internet, and within reach of online mental healthcare. Picture: Aurelie Perthius, news.com.au.The Inspire Foundation hopes this will help young Australians to be safer, healthier, happier and more resilient.
"The NBN will enable even more capacity for the development of online technologies, and with it will come further opportunities for improving the wellbeing of young people" wrote Inspire's Doug Millen last year.
The Young and Well CRC (Cooperative Research Centre) is charged with exploring the role of technology in our lives and how it can be used to improve our mental health and wellbeing. They claim 75 per cent of mental illnesses occur in young people.
Bridging the gap
Ehon Chan founded Soften The F*ck Up as a means of reaching out to men online. The initiative urges men to challenge traditional notions of masculinity by embracing their emotions and reaching out for help.
He says technology and treatment run hand in hand.
"Online counselling helps for people who find it hard to pick up the phone, or where a mobile is not the most accessible," he said.
"What's exciting about the rollout of the NBN is that more people in rural areas will have high-speed internet. Things like Lifeline's counselling service will really help."
Perth-based counsellor Ben Mullings has spent years researching online chat therapy. His studies prove that people feel less vulnerable and more willing to open up from behind a computer screen.
"Doing it from home, where they don't feel so heavily scrutinised was an enormous benefit," he told news.com.au.
"One person said: 'When I cry I can't talk, but I can type'. Somehow they're able to get the words out and make more use of their time.
"Many decided to make the next step and see their GP or a counsellor face-to-face. For some people it helped bridge the gap."
Please follow news.com.au's onehour|onelife campaign during May and give generously to Lifeline's new Online Crisis Support Chat Service - live on May 8.
If you or someone you know may be at risk of suicide contact Lifeline 13 11 14, beyondblue 1300 22 46 36, or Salvo Care Line 1300 36 36 22.
