Facebook’s Going a Little Purple for Spirit Day


Facebook is throwing its weight behind Spirit Day, a day supporting LGBT youth and fighting back against bullying and digital abuse.
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To celebrate this Oct. 20, Facebook is encouraging its employees to learn more about Spirit Day and turn their Facebook profile pictures purple in support, representing “spirit” on the rainbow flag. Facebook will also be turning two of its pages — Facebook Diversity and Facebook Safety — purple for the entire day.
Spirit Day is another example of Facebook’s effort to fight bullying and digital abuse. The social network has developed a digital tool for reporting abuse, it has partnered with MTV’s “A Thin Line” anti-abuse campaign, the BBC, the National Crime Prevention Council and other organizations looking to make a difference. Facebook has also participated in White House events and conferences aiming to curtail the spread of online bullying.
This effort is important as Facebook is one of the most popular and common places to find digital abuse. This is not a result of Facebook policies but a natural result of the huge amount of youths (and people in general) that communicate and share their lives on the network. It is both good business and absolutely necessary that Facebook address these problems.
SEE ALSO: 56% of Teens Say They Have Been Bullied Online [SURVEY]
Facebook is not alone in its support of Spirit Day, as other tech giants join in, including Yahoo!, AT&T, HP, Comcast and Viacom.

Users looking to show their own support can visit the Spirit Day Page, sponsored by GLAAD, to download anti-bullying resources and tint their own profile photos purple. There are also options to tint other social profile pictures purple, such as Twitter, Google+ and Tumblr.
How important is it for the tech world to support LGBT youth and take a stand against cyber-bullying? Is it long over due or unnecessary? Sound off in the comments.
Image courtesy of Flickr, GOIABA (Goiabarea)
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