David Napthine wrote 6 original screenplays about the symptoms of depression and how they affect the everyday aspects of “Geoff’s” life. Online awareness has been a positive influence for men seeking help online.
On the flip side, there are adverse effects to an online media presence; connection may be the mantra, but it’s anger and controversy that sells.
Frances Haugen, former employee of Facebook’s civic misinformation team, has released tens of thousands of documents, showing how Facebook’s algorithm will push a negative format on its readers, and keep us reading the hateful, divisive and polarising content; but, why? Because anger and hate definitely sells. It is an unfortunate side to an algorithm that amplifies the worst of human nature into our daily feed.
“There were conflicts of interests of what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook.”
More often than not, young men are also dealing with the negative aspects of a life within social media. These platforms are easy to present a “best life” façade to the world. Whilst this may be useful or inspiring to some, to others it can lead to a negative comparative situation, from body image to fiscal insecurities. These feeds are constant, which subversively makes us consume more. From increased feelings of loneliness, isolation, and even decreased empathy, current research indicates that young adults - the most active social media users - are at a higher risk of developing mental health issues.
With social media being so pivotal within our society, it is implausible to cut off completely from negative cycles, yet self-regulation is key. It is strange to conceive, but social media is very addictive platform and there has to be cut off points, to disengage from a virtual presence.
Statistics show that a male mental health epidemic is a global issue, with cases of suicide almost 3x that of women in many countries. I’ve outlined several reasons why men are affected more, yet the complex nature of mental health requires more than just an article; there is no quick fix to a state of mind. We need to speak about this more, and not just online. There needs to be an ingrained narrative that accepting feelings of anxiety or stress and talking about these issues must be normalised, not kept hidden behind a smile or stiff upper lip.