Social Media: Mental Welfare's worst enemy?
An honest opinion from an anxious man
I find a lot of mental welfare posts these days promote "you are your own happiness" or "only you can empower yourself". The reality for many dealing with mental wellness is simple; we struggle to engage with that mentality.
The truth is you have to be a certain type of person to generate your own sunshine and unicorn farts. We don't all have that gift and it's perfectly ok. A lot of us have experienced trauma, heartbreak and loss that has triggered anxiety, depression, BPD and onward. We suffer uniquely as much as we suffer together. We are a community who understands. A community built on a foundation of open and honest experience for education and enlightenment. On top of that we have counselling, therapy and CBT. All designed to strengthen us. The danger lurks out of hours. When it is just you and your phone. Left alone to scroll, the social media therapists engage.
By default, many of us with mental welfare challenges search for advice online. Social media platforms are the modern, convenient and free option. Unfortunately it seems, as social media becomes a revenue engine for the aspiring influencer it focuses less on the content and more on the volume. The number of followers. Number of posts. Number of likes. Wellness accounts with 100,000 followers and 10,000 posts. 10,000 posts! I'm not sure I've had 10,000 thoughts and I've got anxiety! Not a day went by I didn't see my feed saturated with upward of 50+ posts promoting the same garbage in the same format. Pastel pink background, typewriter font; "Love yourself Hun x" promoting products and clothing in the same breath.
Now you could argue, what's the harm? It's just a post. For the mental welfare veterans amongst us: those who have designed strategies, reorganised their rules for living or know their triggers it's probably fine. However, for the newly struggling, the young, confused or severely suffering these posts directly impact their perception on how to manage a situation. Example: 15yrs old, struggling with their sexuality, can't communicate, develops depression, suicidal thoughts, constantly reading variations of "Only you can make yourself happy". The ramifications of that statement are profoundly negative. In the unregulated world of social platforms, anyone can post anything. Can you really verify that the person behind the post is genuine, experienced or even a person? When you add fame and fortune to the mix based on volume, the consequences for our community can be catastrophic.
So, against this tsunami of commercialised social happiness how do we reach higher ground? My thoughts are this: keep connected to reality and join certified, gated mental wellness communities. If you do use social media, think about who you follow. Look for the verified status or official charity accounts. Try to analyse the content before following. If you see a motivational post like "love yourself" and you're smashing it with positivity, you don't have to hit the 'like' button. It isn't social law. It doesn't add further validation to you. The reality is your 'like' will be lost, floating in an ocean of artificial bot 'likes' and algorithms designed to pull you under. Most importantly you'll have done your part and not inadvertently influenced someone else by endorsing this dangerous tidal wave of detritus.
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