Yes, Social Media Does Have Positive Aspects
A Millenial's Experience With The Mental Health Communities on Twitter & Instagram
In 2006, when I was posting cringe-worthy selfies on MySpace and Facebook, I never thought that social media would become such an integral part of my adult life. I currently have 13.6k followers on Instagram, and 25.8k followers on Twitter.
My accounts thrive on vulnerability, openness, connection with my followers, and a common theme of mental health, self love and social justice.
Many of my current followers have virtually known me since 2012, where this whole journey began. I had decided to start documenting my recovery from self harm, and opened up to my already tight-knit community about what was really going on in my life.
From that point on, my tweets became more and more focused on the complexities of mental illness and the steps I was taking to find balance and peace. My follower count skyrocketed, my inbox was filled to the brim with people reaching out for advice or simply to vent, and my sense of worth and purpose reached completeness. I inadvertently formed an online community.
Often times, those who criticize social media have valid reasons for doing so, and they bring up several points that I agree with as well. What most naysayers do not see is that the internet, despite all its negative aspects, has the potential to be an absolute safe haven for people who have social issues, neurological disorders, mental illnesses, or people that just don’t feel like they fit in with those in their physical environment. We form small and large communities centered around common interests, just like humans do in “real life,” we have inside jokes, we communicate regularly, we create emotional intimacy even if it’s just through messaging or phone calls, and we support each other.
My experience may be different than most, because I have a large follower count, and many view me as a source of inspiration, but nonetheless I have received endless amounts of heartwarming messages that have brought me to tears countless times. Every time that I relapsed in self harm, I posted about it and I immediately received tweets, Instagram comments, messages and even text messages from those who have my number.
Besides my account, there's an extensive amount of accounts focused on self care, mental illness education and support for those who need it. The top three for me personally are: @buddyproject, @authenticallyADHD, and @twloha.
Even more remarkable is the fairly recent burst of licensed therapists on Instagram offering advice and education to those who may not be able to afford therapy, or simply need validation and understanding from a professional perspective. This does NOT replace actually going to therapy, but it's a great resource for so many of us. My top three are @lisaoliveratherapy, @theanxietyhealer and @notesfromyourtherapist.
The world of social media has a lot of toxic aspects, and I will never dispute that fact, but for me, and a lot of my friends, it has become a very positive and comforting part of our daily lives, and helps us to feel less alone. Posting on Instagram and Twitter about both my struggles and tiny victories is fun, healing and community oriented. I am not shouting into the void, I am speaking to thousands of people all over the world and I am reaching people's hearts. Everyone, not just the accounts mentioned above, are doing a service to society, by talking about mental illness, which, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, impacts one out of every four people. I'm grateful that we have been given such an incredible platform to get our messages across.
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