SOCIAL MEDIA’S ASSISTANCE ON MENTAL HEALTH
More than double the global average, seven out of ten Singaporeans
are active social media users. Furthermore, age does not seem to be a factor:
82 percent of Singaporeans over 55 use social media, compared to just 14
percent of those under 25.
Although most people find social media to be helpful, it may also
have negative effects for others. Over the last few years, online social media
have grown in popularity as a way of sharing various forms of user-generated or
user-curated material, such as posting personal status updates, uploading
photos, and sharing current geographical locations.
Users may also connect with one another by leaving comments on their
posts and starting conversations, this increases the chances of individuals
sharing about their mental sickness more prominently with much ease and less
fear. Users can share their emotions and opinions, as well as report on their
everyday activities, through these interactions, resulting in a wealth of
valuable knowledge about their social habits. To name only two of the most
prominent social media sites, Facebook has over 1.7 billion monthly active
users.
A research paper by
Statistics indicate that teens and young adults are more likely than young men
to experience depression symptoms related to social media use, and that young
women are more likely than young men to experience feelings of despair and
sadness. Data mining and machine learning methods can be used to create
automated detection systems for mental health conditions based on the symptoms
and markers of mental illnesses. Existing methods focused on text mining,
social network analysis, and image analysis can detect unusual behavior and patterns
of interaction expressed in social network networks.
In psychiatry, digital
technologies can help to facilitate change and improve health care delivery, as
well as enhance clinical relationships and influence the complex relationship
between media portrayals of mental illness and public understanding. Unlike
other journalists, who may rely on secondhand reports, mental health
practitioners may provide direct advice, opinions, and insights on social media
based on patient accounts. Several studies have shown that multiple types of
media are the most valuable source of information for the general public about
mental illness. Media effects manipulate and synthesize the average man’s
perception and ideas about mental disorders with both positive and harmful
interactions.
In terms of how people
perceive mental illness, [ Philo,1996] believes that publicity will trump
people’s own personal experiences. The media guilds’ initial lack of interest
in mental health has shifted dramatically over time, with noticing a large rise in articles covering mental health, including a decrease
in stigmatization and depiction of mental health as harmful, but a concurrent
increase in articles portraying psychiatrically ill people as incapable. These
advocates then push for media sensitization as a means of persuading the media
to play a more active role in mental health initiatives.
According to comprehensive studies, the media is the public’s most
valuable source of knowledge regarding mental illness, with television acting
as one of the most influential environments for framing public consciousness.
In reality this is not at all enough, we need to focus on more
cures than only highlighting an issue. Different mental health departments are
working day and night to provide an efficient cure for these
CONCLUSIONS
The public’s view of mental illness and how it is depicted in the
media is inextricably linked. In the sense that negative images in the media
promote negative perceptions, and the resulting media coverage feeds off an
already negative public opinion, the connection appears bi-dimensional. As a
result, correct information must be disseminated to the public, and not just
the news media, but also blogs, forums, and social media sites will do well to
meet desirable principles of exercising discipline and vigilance before
broadcasting or uploading inaccurate information to public domains.
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