Mental health awareness is a critical issue that has garnered increased attention in recent years, and social media has played a pivotal role in advancing awareness and reducing stigma. While there are numerous advantages to utilizing social media for mental health awareness, it is also imperative to consider potential disadvantages.
Advantages of Mental Health Awareness in Social Media:
1. Seeking Help:
Raising awareness about mental health makes it easier for people to seek diagnosis, find others with similar issues as them, and find ways to manage their disorder. Additionally, social media makes it easier for people to find the support they need whether it’s support groups or mental health providers. a survey conducted by the American Psychological Association found that 43% of people who use social media for mental health support said it helped them find more information about mental health resources.
2. Normalizations of Mental Health Discussions:
According to a survey by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), 69% of respondents said
social media platforms helped them feel more comfortable talking about mental health. Social media normalizes mental health discussions and implements the idea that mental health is just as important as physical health.
3. Early Detection and Intervention:
Social media can allow individuals struggling with a certain health issue to recognize early signs of their condition and seek support before their symptoms worsen. Among people with chronic health conditions, 60% reported using social media to find information about their condition. This allows for more effective treatment and diagnosis.
Disadvantages of Mental Health Awareness in Social Media:
1. Self-diagnosing
The rise of mental health awareness caused people, especially young children and teenagers, to
diagnose themselves with issues that they may not have based on content they consume online, which leads to an increase in anxiety and stress. Self-diagnosing is the act of identifying and diagnosing one's own medical or mental health condition without consulting a healthcare professional. It is a dangerous practice that is often promoted on social media platforms.
Social media can provide individuals with a wealth of information about different health conditions, but this information may not always be accurate or reliable. When individuals rely solely on information they find on social media, they run the risk of misdiagnosing themselves, which can be harmful and delay proper treatment. According to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, 34% of social media users had used social media to self-diagnose a mental health condition.
2. Triggering Content
Not all mental health related content online leaves a positive impact on its consumers. Many creators promote dangerous acts online by projecting their unstable ideas onto their viewers. Social media allows you to join groups and interact with people who have similar conditions to you, but those interactions can possibly cause more harm than good. Many people struggling with a certain mental health condition may create posts and groups promoting their dangerous disorder. According to the Journal of Medical Internet Research, young people who reported exposure to self-harm content on social media were nearly 2.5 times more likely to engage in self-harm behaviors than those who did not report exposure.
3. Glamorization of Mental Illnesses
Social media can directly or indirectly contribute to the glamorization of certain mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, and more. Sometimes during mental health discussions, the weight of these issues and disorders is lost. They can be seen as unimportant issues and therefore taken less seriously. According to a study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, social media can contribute to the normalization and glorification of self-harm and suicide.
In conclusion, mental health awareness on social media can have both positive and negative impacts. When surfing the internet, you must be aware of the content you’re consuming without allowing it to influence you. Remember that not all content on the internet is reliable and consuming false information or triggering content can harm you. If you believe you have a certain mental health condition, please seek the professional help needed and refrain from diagnosing yourself through social media, as every case is different, and content online can be misleading. Luckily, social media platforms are designed to be a safe space for you, so triggering content can be easily hidden and blocked. Additionally, each social media platform has
community guidelines that ensure the safety of viewers.
Resources:
Jose Luis Vazquez Martinez. “#statusofmind: Social Media and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing.” International Society of Substance Use Professionals, May 3, 2018. https://www.issup.net/knowledge-share/publications/2018-05/statusofmind-social-media-and-young-peoples-mental-health-and.
Berryman, Chloe, Christopher Ferguson, and Charles Negy. “Social Media Use and Mental Health among Young Adults.” The Psychiatric quarterly, June 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29090428/.
Marchant, A., Hawton, K., Stewart, A., Montgomery, P., Singaravelu, V., Lloyd, K., Purdy, N., & Daine, K. (2017). A systematic review of the relationship between internet use, self-harm and suicidal behaviour in young people: The good, the bad and the unknown. PLoS ONE, 12(8), e0181722. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28813437/
Nereim, Cameron D. “Social Media and Adolescent Mental Health: Who You Are and What ...” Journal of Adolescent Health, 2019. https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054139X(19)30763-3/fulltext.
Harris, Margot. “How Social Media Is Changing the Way We Think about Mental Illness.” National Alliance on Mental Illness, June 25, 2021. https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2021/How-Social-Media-Is-Changing-the-Way-We-Think-About-Mental-Illness.
Journal of Medical Internet Research. Accessed May 9, 2023. https://www.jmir.org/.
Comentarios