Graphic courtesy of Getty Images
Celia Remis
Opinions Reporter
Typing “#mentalhealth” into the TikTok search bar opens up a page with 19.2 billion views. The variety of posts is vast and includes everything from a teenage girl sharing her depression story using montaged clips set to sentimental music to a checklist viewers might use to diagnose themselves with anxiety in just 30 seconds. But what is the impact of an aspiring influencer telling you that you have all the symptoms of an anxiety disorder? The rapid spread of awareness across the internet has appropriately destigmatized the formerly taboo topic of mental illness and simultaneously given people a platform to feel less alone, but at what cost? There is a multitude of potential harms including overdiagnosis of those who have no mental illness, misdiagnosis of those who self-diagnose incorrectly based on social media posts, and underdiagnosis by trivializing serious mental health conditions while romanticizing them as glamorous.
On social media platforms, serious psychological conditions can trend and flood the feeds of teens in the same way as current Y2K fashion or the latest episode of Squid Game. Not fitting in, as an expression of mental illness, is more likely to result in likes than simply blending in with the crowd. Being mainstream is no longer mainstream. To really capture the attention of others, one must be distinctive. Often, this presents in the form of the perfect Instagram photo. Most viewers cannot compete with these seemingly perfect lives—although curated—and instead, contrast these images with their own imperfect existence. This option provides viewers with the ability to praise both the struggle and the defeat of mental illness.
But, social media is a highlight reel. The highs are displayed while the lows are kept to a hush. Social media is not real life. The pressure to have a picture-perfect life, which is impossible, can lead to many mental health struggles, as proven in countless scientific studies.
When trusting in the mental health advice from those posting on social media platforms rather than trained health professionals, there is obviously a concern about both misinformation and misdiagnosis. Vulnerable teens with mental health problems are especially susceptible to looking for an easy answer to help them feel better about themselves. It is much easier and far less vulnerable to anonymously seek a diagnosis by watching a 30-second video rather than scheduling an appointment with a mental health professional. If self-diagnosis helps one feel part of a community while offering quick answers and validation, does it even matter if it is not accurate?
Most people would recognize that self-diagnosis is risky for a multitude of reasons. When people determine they have a condition without a clinical evaluation, it delegitimizes the importance of accurately establishing a diagnosis. Feeling “butterflies” is not clinical anxiety, and feeling “blue” is not clinical depression. Believing this to be the case and having it reinforced by strangers online is very dangerous. Everyone has these feelings from time to time.
According to Rola Jadayel, a professor from the International School in Lebanon and researcher on mental health and social media, “More and more teenagers are convinced that depression, anxiety, anorexia, and bipolarity are ‘cool’ or can make you ‘special.'” As she suggests, teenagers see these illnesses as being glamorous, a very harmful outlook to such debilitating conditions.
Portraying such a serious condition in a trivial light delegitimizes the truly devastating experience felt by many people with mental illness. Award-winning author, Natasha Tracy, reveals she “finds the difference between glorifying versus destigmatizing in her blogs by keeping them grounded in reality, entrenched in her experiences without adding frills and leaning in whenever it gets too uncomfortable.” Unlike Tracy, people try to avoid the uncomfortable realities of mental illness.
Leaked documents from Facebook and Instagram reveal that internal company research indicated Instagram made body-image issues worse for 1 in 3 teenage girls. Jacqueline Nesi writes in the North Carolina Medical Journal, “the incidence of certain mental health concerns, such as depression and suicide, have increased significantly among adolescents in recent years, with rates of suicide among youth aged 10-24 increasing 56% from 2007 to 2017.” The rise of social media over the past decade mirrors the rise in suicide among youth.
To combat inaccurate diagnoses and glamorization of these topics, students must receive more of an education in schools surrounding mental health. The lack of education in school regarding this important subject can lead to adolescents taking their thoughts and concerns to social media, a place fraught with misinformation. This environment can also leave a vulnerable adolescent clinging to a superficial diagnosis or longing to be part of a group of social misfits. While I have witnessed the harmful effects of social media, I have also seen a glimmer of what the future could hold. Promotions for online therapy and community conversations offering a sympathetic hand during lonely times show a positive side to social media.
