2024 Mental Health Essay Contest Awardee: Honorable Mention
Social Media as a Possible Method to Reduce Mental Health Stigma
Mason, Maryland
Suicide affects more than 49 thousand Americans each year with 47% of those being people between the ages of 10 to 44 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). It was one of the biggest concerns in my county for the past several years. Moreover, suicide is the result of just one of the many mental health illnesses. With this said, it is of utmost importance that we not only have the resources for people to use but actively encourage people to use them by reducing the stigma against mental health. The mental health stigma is the idea that individuals with mental health issues will be viewed as beneath, shameful, and worthless, which leads to these individuals not utilizing the resources offered (Health Direct, 2022). Helping break down the stigma is vital for combating the issue of poor mental health.
One possible solution to reduce the mental health stigma is to encourage social media influencers and celebrities to be more vulnerable to their audiences and share their own experiences. Social media influencers have been proven to already have a huge and successful effect on “marketing communication practices” (Yurdakul-Sahin and Atik, 2013). Being a part of Gen Z, I have seen lots of examples of social media being used to spread a message or grow a cause such as Black Lives Matter and more recently the genocides in Israel and Palestine. Social media is an extremely easy way to reach numerous people, so what’s the harm in trying to use it to spread awareness about the mental health stigma? One of the biggest influencers who helped fight and create an impact on the issue is Lewis Capaldi, a successful songwriter and singer, who suffers from Tourette’s Syndrome, depression, and anxiety due to his rapid success. Lewis openly shared concerns about his mental health and took steps to advocate for his as well as others’ mental health by writing songs. His refreshing willingness to share his issues makes him an extremely important role model for many fans and individuals (Fortis Therapy & Training, 2022). Seeing one of their favorite singers deal with mental health issues, fans are encouraged to seek help for their own issues because they won’t be afraid of being weird or alone. Seeing one of their favorite singers deal with mental health issues, fans are encouraged to seek help for their own issues because they won’t be afraid of being weird or alone.
The strategy could be implemented by using government funds to “sponsor” influencers to open up. Similarly to an ad sponsor, the influencers will be contacted to complete a task and paid for the task once they complete it. In this case, the task would be to create a video discussing their mental health issues and talk about their treatment. One caveat is that the influencer’s mental health struggles have to be genuine. If the influencer is lying, it destroys the trust between the fans and influencer, the reputation of the government, and any chance of breaking down the stigma. Another issue with implementing influencer sponsorships is the funding needed. Sponsorships often vary in price by how famous the influencer is, which depends on their follower count. However, the desired reach of these advertisements and public service announcements has to be taken into account because if the funds were used to sponsor cheaper influencers, the message would reach fewer people. To put this into context using an example, a mid-tier creator, a person with 100k to 500k followers, would cost anywhere from one thousand to five thousand dollars for one Instagram Reel, a type of short video (Demeku, 2023). On the contrary, one benefit of using social media influencers to market these mental health videos is that they may reach a larger audience than expected. Videos may “go viral,” the action of being widely shared and seen, which would help spread the message and impact. Additionally, some influencers may be willing to post about it without any compensation if the cause of the movement is explained and the influencers connect to the message.
It is heartwarming that people are becoming more aware of the importance of mental health and addressing the stigma that prevents individuals from gaining help. I am extremely thankful to the NIH for creating this essay challenge to promote this issue and allow me to share my ideas about solving it.
References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2023, August 10). Suicide Data and Statistics. www.cdc.gov; CDC. https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/suicide-data-statistics.html
- Demeku, A. (2019, April 10). This is How Much Instagram Influencers Really Cost. Later Blog. https://later.com/blog/instagram-influencers-costs/
- Fortis Therapy & Training LTD (2023). Www.linkedin.com. Retrieved December 27, 2023, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-we-can-learn-from-lewis-capaldi-protecting
- Health Direct. (2022, May 5). Mental illness stigma. www.healthdirect.gov.au. https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/mental-illness-stigma#searchGeneralResults
- Yurdakul-Şahin , D., & Atik, D. (2013). Celebrity influences on young consumers: guiding the way to the ideal self [Review of Celebrity influences on young consumers: guiding the way to the ideal self].
NIH recognizes these talented essay winners for their thoughtfulness and creativity in addressing youth mental health. These essays are written in the students' own words, are unedited, and do not necessarily represent the views of NIH, HHS, or the federal government.
Page published May 31, 2024
