With the rise of social media, many of us have found ourselves indulged in the new way of instant connectedness and community through social media. Moreover, during the pandemic more and more Australians have opted to use social media platforms to keep in touch with loved ones. Approximately 80% of Australians were active social media users in 2021 (Anon, 2021).
As many of us may have experienced, social media can be very addictive. The 24/7 connectivity, and endless notifications can affect our attention – disturbing our sleep and even possibly making us feel enslaved to our phones (Robinson & Smith, 2021). We may often fall into the trap of scrolling through our social media feeds, checking stories for updates, and posting photographs and videos of our everyday lives. The desire for instant gratification which sparks dopamine may push us to feel the need to constantly refresh our social media feeds (Edmonds, n.d). According to the Royal Society of Public Health, 91% of young people use the internet for social networking, and the rate of depression and anxiety among young people has increased by more than 20% over the last 25 years (Cramer & Inkster, 2017). A British study in 2018, linked the use of social media to memory loss, decreased academic performance and memory loss due to lack of sleep, which is associated with depression (Mclean Hospital, 2022).
Although social media may affect our mental health, it has contributed to the decrease in the stigma of mental health. Stigma is usually due to a lack of understanding and or fear (Borenstein, 2020). The stigma against mental health is more prevalent than physical health as the cause is perceived to be multifaceted and ambiguous (Robinson et al. 2015). Stigma not only affects the individual with mental health but often also affects their family members and loved ones that support them (Borenstein, 2020).
The use of social media, especially with the use of humour has significantly created a new approach and open dialogue in topics related to mental health (Harris, 2021). Social media creates the ability to bring about awareness by allowing individuals to share their experiences and voice their opinions on ‘marginalised members of society’ (Pavlova & Berkersb, 2015).
In September 2013, a ‘mental patient’ Halloween costume advertised on the website on the national supermarket Asda’s George clothing line, sparked an uprising on social media. Thousands of people took their stance on twitter expressing their disapproval and offence of the advertisement. The next day, the viral trending twitter topic was the lead on national television. It wasn’t long for Asda and other retailers to remove the advertisement from their webpages and apologise to the public by donating to England’s anti-stigma campaign called “Time to Change’ (Betton et al. 2015)
References
Anon 2021, Australia: social media penetration 2021 | Statista, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.statista.com/statistics/680201/australia-social-media-penetration/>.
Betton, V, Borschmann, R, Docherty, M, Coleman, S, Brown, M & Henderson, C 2015, "The role of social media in reducing stigma and discrimination", British Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 206, no. 6, pp. 443-444, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/the-british-journal-of-psychiatry/article/role-of-social-media-in-reducing-stigma-and-discrimination/13C35DB424523B4210530288561CE615>.
Borenstein, J 2020, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/stigma-and-discrimination>.
Cramer, S & Inkster, B 2017, #StatusofMind, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.rsph.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/status-of-mind.html>.
Edmonds, R n.d., Anxiety, loneliness and Fear of Missing Out: The impact of social media on young people’s mental health | Centre for Mental Health, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/blogs/anxiety-loneliness-and-fear-missing-out-impact-social-media-young-peoples-mental-health>.
Harris, M 2021, How Social Media Is Changing the Way We Think About Mental Illness | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.nami.org/Blogs/NAMI-Blog/June-2021/How-Social-Media-Is-Changing-the-Way-We-Think-About-Mental-Illness>.
McLean Hospital 2022, Here’s How Social Media Affects Your Mental Health | McLean Hospital, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health>.
Pavlova, A & Berkersb, P 2020, "Mental health discourse and social media: Which mechanisms of cultural power drive discourse on Twitter", Social Science & Medicine, vol. 305, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S027795362030469X>.
Robinson, L & Smith, M 2021, Social Media and Mental Health - HelpGuide.org, viewed 19 May, 2022, <https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/social-media-and-mental-health.htm>.
Robinson, P, Turk, D, Jilka, S & Cella, M 2018, "Measuring attitudes towards mental health using social media: investigating stigma and trivialisation", Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 51-58.
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