Ideas worth spreading

How targeted ads might just save your life

804,146 views |

Sandersan Onie |

TEDxSydney

• August 2022

Could the tech industry's complex algorithms support people during their darkest times, rather than just deliver targeted ads? Drawing from his own experience with depression, global mental health researcher Sandersan Onie shows how internet search behaviors can provide valuable insights into suicide risk and potentially help save lives by reaching people in a deeply personal way, at a crucial moment.

Could the tech industry's complex algorithms support people during their darkest times, rather than just deliver targeted ads? Drawing from his own experience with depression, global mental health researcher Sandersan Onie shows how internet search behaviors can provide valuable insights into suicide risk and potentially help save lives by reaching people in a deeply personal way, at a crucial moment.

This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxSydney, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Get involved in the movement for a mentally healthier world by donating, partnering with or participating in research with Black Dog Institute.

About the speaker

Sandersan Onie

Global mental health researcher

See speaker profile

Sandersan (Sandy) Onie is a researcher at the Black Dog Institute in Australia and founder of Emotional Health for All in Indonesia, one of the first research-based mental health and suicide prevention foundations in the country.

Sandersan Onie | JMIR Mental Health, 2023 | Article

"Suicide Prevention Using Google Ads: Randomized Controlled Trial Measuring Engagement"

Felicity Davey | SBS News, 2022 | Article

"Could pop-up ads stop suicides in Australia?"

Andrew Wight | Forbes, 2020 | Article

"This Indonesian Researcher Uses Google Adwords To Help Prevent Suicides"

Sandersan Onie et al. | The Lancet, 2023 | Article

"A unified religious stance on mental health and suicide at the G20: the Lombok Declaration"

Sandersan Onie et al. | The Lancet, 2023 | Article

"Indonesian first national suicide prevention strategy: key findings from the qualitative situational analysis"

Sandersan Onie | Nature, 2020 | Article

"Redesign open science for Asia, Africa and Latin America"

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This talk was presented to a local audience at TEDxSydney, an independent event. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

Read more about TEDx.

Get involved in the movement for a mentally healthier world by donating, partnering with or participating in research with Black Dog Institute.