Can an app prevent teenage suicides? This startup thinks so

Posted on November 19, 2015

"At the intersection of psychology and technology there's a lot of new research and ideas taking shape around using mobile and gamification to improve people's mental health," says Jamie Chiu, a psychology doctoral candidate and co-founder of Hong Kong-based Lulio. "There's also a growing body of research on using video games for therapeutic interventions and assessments."

Lulio aims to bring that research into the real world. By analyzing teenagers' mental health through mobile games, Jamie and her co-founder, Mark Altosaar, hope to gather data that could spot warning signs of depression or even suicidal tendencies.

"In the US and Europe, there are a few apps out there that aim to reduce anxiety or depression using a gamified approach," Jamie says. "A few have been tested and showed effectiveness, so it's encouraging that technology can be used in such a way to make a positive impact."

Jamie is quick to say that research analyzing the effects of apps on teenage depression is still in its early stages, but the results have been promising.

"All of our mini-games are designed bottom-up. From current scientific literature, specific measurable factors were identified that are strongly associated with adolescent mental health," Jamie says. "We then create a game layer on top, making it interesting and not very obvious what we are looking for."

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Category(s):Depression, Suicide Prevention, Teenage Issues

Source material from TECHINASIA