How Responsible Is The Media For Depression, Self- Harm And Suicide Amongst Teens And Young Adults ? ~ An EcoTrain Question Of The Week
Greetings fellow Steemians! This week's question of the week, 'To what extent is the negative media, media biases responsible for depression?' by @ecotrain is one that is of particular importance to me.
I also want to mention that the subject of depression is a very sensitive one to many and it is also a condition that has a variety of different forms. The type of depression I am referring to in this article is one of circumstance and influence. In no way am I trying to discredit anyone's feelings and I hope that whoever reads this will understand that.
In light of the increase in celebrity suicides and the abundance of movies, television shows of late and social media trending the topic it is necessary to probe the channels from which the rise in depression, teenage self harming, attempted and actual suicides are coming from.
This world is fast becoming a scary place to raise children. The rate of anxiety, depression and suicide in teenagers has been on the incline since 1986, with a huge spike occurring in recent years and attempted suicides are thought to be even higher. (Though the latter is impossible to gauge as many incidents go unreported). There has also been a steady increase in the number of children who are receiving counselling or are prescribed anti-depressants.
With the ongoing media hype of celebrity deaths by suicide, t.v shows aiming to raise awareness of these issues, social media trending dangerous games and endless emphasis on self image and materialism, is it any wonder the youth of today are feeling internally conflicted?
We mourn the death of celebrities as if they were our close relatives.
It is completely shocking the way in which we hold celebrities as though they are immortal gods. We have become confused with the distinction between their talent and personalities. So it is little wonder that our realistic perception becomes marred when we are force fed the personal ins and outs of a famous person's life. Paparrazzi have become so well versed in creating an ideal of actors, musicians and the like which also creates unmeasured pressure on the celebrities themselves.
Celebrity suicides aren't a new develepment. Think Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and even Judy Garland. The pressure of being in the public eye combined with the nature of the work an artist must undertake, under constant scrutiny can be too much for some people leading to alcoholism and drug abuse as a method of escapism.
However, in current times it can be observed that whilst the patterns that lead toward self destruction are similar, the topic itself has been so over dramatized by the media. We have become desensitized by the occurence yet there is a feeling of grandiosity surrounding the aftermath.
TV shows claim to raise awareness but are they really helping solve the issues?
There has been much hype in the TV industry lately with shows depicting suicidal accounts in the aim to promote 'awareness' of teen suicide. This media hype encourages one in the hope that they will come forward to talk issues through. However I have noticed an increase in pre-teens and teens with no underlying problems suddenly competing with each other over who has worse problems.
Take for instance, 13 Reasons Why. The subject of the show surrounds the aftermath of a teen who commited suicide. The show itself sparked major controversy after mental health charities such as the Samaritans reported a huge rise in calls. It is thought that the show triggered a vicarious response in teens who felt that their problems could only be resolved with suicide. The final episode gratuitously shows the teenager taking her life. I feel this is an extremely irresponsible way of dramatizing an already sensitive topic. For those who are watching, and in the words of my 13 year old " it is teaching them how to do the job properly."
Not only does it promote and glamorize how to commit suicide but the underlying message of these types of T.V shows from a child or teen's perspective would be one of the assumption that it is easier to hide your feelings, hurt yourself or worse, end your life.
Great musicians and their struggles with depression
Living with depression and being in the public eye can be very difficult. The image that celebrities and musicians often have is not always a true reflection of who they are. Clever marketing by the companies that promote them, agents and the like often channel people into a stereotype. This makes it easier for them when it comes to promoting but in my experience there is little concern for the starlets's well-being, they are just money making tools.
We have seen in the news recently, Avicii, The Cranberry's Delores O'Riordon, Chis Cornell and Chester Bennington's sad stories. Great musicians who used their feelings to produce award winning music. Well respected and loved by many because their music touched the hearts and souls of many people around the world.
I often wonder if the media had portrayed their deaths in a more low-key fashion, what the impact on us mere mortals would be like. Statistically, it has been documented that when a celebrity takes their life it can trigger a copycat response in others, namely other celebrities. However, going back to the blurred lines between reality and fiction in current times, are more people becoming influenced by these actions? Is it because on every single news channel and every single social media outlet that the prevalence makes it normal?
The Social Media Darwin Effect
In recent years there have been many a disturbing trend circling around Youtube, Facebook and Instagram. However, none are more disturbing than last year when the controversial game 'Blue Whale' in which contestants were encouraged to upload videos of themselves participating in various acts of self harm over a number of days and eventually on the final day were told to commit suicide.
It breaks my heart to hear that there are people out there who have the power to instigate and inflict such cruelty on others. I often question how they came to feel so much hatred toward life. Were they shown any love growing up? What trauma must they have suffered and not been able to deal with that would spur them to be this way?
Not quite as shocking but equally questionable was the recent 'Tide-Pod Challenge' in which teens uploaded videos of themselves eating the laundry detergents in a battle of popularity and recognition. The biggest question I have about this is, just how much momentum would these high-school pranks have actually gained if they hadn't been reported in the news?
How subliminal advertising techniques are preying on our insecurities; and why are their target audiences getting younger and younger?
We live in a world where we are judged by our appearances from what we wear, how many gadgets we have to how much make-up women should wear. Many people are enticed by the flashy advertising campaigns on billboards and T.V. Even the many movies and shows that are churned out often are paid by advertising companies to promote products. What better way to get people to buy the latest item than to make it trend using celebrity endorsement and even peer to peer promotion.
But at what cost to our health? I recently saw a perfectly highlighted look at this by the Zeitgiest movement brain-child, Peter Joseph. In the short film he discusses how advertising creates a form of cultural violence.
"When advertising presents something that seems to be what some people want, it spreads like a virus and then everybody wants it, because it is an issue of social inclusion, which is a part of our biology, because that is how we identify. We identify and define ourselves by how others see us and how we are included in the group. So it manipulates our most primal sense of humanity in order to sell things."
The feelings that arise from being told that we always need more could be contributing to depression. If we buy into this system using credit cards and loans, we are stuck in a trap that is difficult to get out of. We spend our days frantically trying to earn more money to be able to cover the increasing costs of obtaining material products in order to feel that we are blending in with society. It's a slippery slope that we are dangerously climbing, but quickly being sucked back down. Sometimes we forgo paying for the the basic things that will keep us alive in order to buy products.
When it comes down to all this, how are we supposed to keep our sanity if we are constantly trying to keep up with this fast paced consumerist lifestyle?
It's no different for teens and young adults. I phones, smartphones, trendy clothing, on-point make up. It all seems to be getting too much. Maybe I'm an old fuddy duddy. But I grew up in a time where we valued insightful conversations, dressed in what we felt like wearing and engaged in the company of others fully. There were no distractions, no stopping every five minutes to take endless group pictures and selfies. Sure, maybe one of us would have a camera and may have snapped a few shots which we could look at about 2 weeks later after taking them to the shop to be developed.
But that's just it. We are living in a FAST MOTION world. Fast food, fast trends, fast changing attitudes. Everything happens quickly, the train goes at full speed and if you're not quick enough to catch it you will keep on running, tiring out along the way. You could even fall off if you don't stay in the first carriages. We run the risk of being derailed at any given moment. It's no wonder we are surrounded by falseness and insecurities.
We hardly ever stop and take time to grow. We are submersed into an information overload and dictated to by the corporate Fat Cats whose sole purpose is to profit from us. We have little time to think, little time to reflect and little time to grow from our own experiences because from the moment we take our first breath we are told that this is the world we live in and this is how it's supposed to be. Consume. Obey. Repeat.
It would be easy for me to say that we should all just go live in the wild, away from society and sheltered from this abstract reality. Yet, for most that is not an option. I feel that by raising awareness and teaching our future generations to not be so easily manipulated by consumerism and celebrity status is the only way forward. (Easier said than done I know, but worth a try nonetheless).
Recognize that we don't need to be like everyone else and do not need to have everything we do validated in order to fulfill happiness. Showing them that happiness can be found in simpler activities, things that don't require money and that we hold the key to a happy existence within ourselves.
When we start being mindful of what makes us happy, and learning to understand who we are, instead of leaving our happiness in the hands of materialism and the need to be like everyone else, we come to realize that we hold the power and that the media and it's biases do not, cannot and will not touch us.
Sources: The Jason Foundatiom
Science Daily
CDC Suicide Statistics 2016-PDF
lovely conclusions you have come up with here... this is a hard topic to really delve into.. and anyone who has had to deal with depression can speak of how it really can make everything so much harder in life...
i think you are right that we need to understand our own needs, and to stop comparing our selves to our neighbours or our friends...
turn of that TV and dont watch the news is a great way to start.. oh and Facebook of course! <3
fantastic post and i love how you linked it to teens! this is such an important topic!! one obviously very urgent in your life. teenagers are so impressionable and you hit it on the head here:
these positive influences, understand truer happiness from within and away from the cult of celebrity... is so important. props to you and props to all the moms and parents facing these issues! <3
Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. My situation with my daughter has certainly been influenced by the media hype and social media, although there is a huge underlying reason for her feeling the way she does. It was originally really difficult to write this because I want to respect her privacy, which was why I didn't go into personal details in the article. We are working on meditation, positive mental attitudes and mindset.
Thank you for your kind words. It's heartbreaking and makes you feel kinda helpless at times, but the best any parent can do is support, listen and empathize.
Such a wonderful write-up @holisticmom. Depression is such an intense topic and the media definitely plays a huge role in highlighting it and giving seemingly appropriate solutions (not in my opinion, but according to those who opt for them) to curb it. I thought of 13 Reasons Why too when @eco-alex suggested this topic.
Thank you so much for your kind words and I'm glad you enjoyed what I wrote. Isn't it interesting that we both thought of that TV show? ❤
Yeah it is interesting. I haven't watched it and I won't see it even but it has been a big influence in the lives of young people.
"We hardly ever stop and take time to grow. We are submersed into an information overload and dictated to by the corporate Fat Cats whose sole purpose is to profit from us. We have little time to think, little time to reflect and little time to grow from our own experiences because from the moment we take our first breath we are told that this is the world we live in and this is how it's supposed to be. Consume. Obey. Repeat."
This is causal. And real. And something we can choose to deselect from. Thank you for a really important mama perspective. I wish you grace and patience to support your young one through challenging transitions.
Thank you so much. My daughter is really finding life quite difficult at present. She's come a long way from where she was last August but there are many obstacles she is still dealing with and working together on. I'm really grateful for your kind words of support. <3
Hugs from across the globe.
Thank you, well received and sending big hugs to you too. :-) <3
Thank you for your kind and insightful comment @eco-alex.
Yes the struggle is so unbelievably hard that those who haven't lived through it can sometimes not understand the effects.
I haven't gone out of my way to watch the news or tv for many years now.I much prefer a good book or an insightful documentary. I'm slowly weaning off Facebook and I use it as a tool to raise awareness about important issues rather than showcase pictures and status updates. It's a very freeing feeling. One that I am happy with. ❤
U focused on a really important topic here, as it all starts with out young people who are most vunerable to the effects of mass media especially surrounding 'so called role models' like celebrities. I feel if our lives were more localized instead of globalised then we wouldn't have so many of these issues.
Thank you and yes young people are so vulnerable and impressionable. It's also really hard to shelter them from it. A real conundrum for all of us parents.
This is an incredible post. So very thorough and so very thoughtful. It's so incredibly important to talk with our children about all of these things - the media and advertising as well as depression, suicide, and cutting. There is unfortunately a ton of bad parenting advice, and one of the other terrible consequences of this go, go, go, consume, consume, consume society is parents not having enough time and therefore enough connection with their children. We have to connect with them when they're little if we are to have any chance in hell at connecting with them when they're teens. And you're right that they're not going to just give all the social media stuff up, so we have to help them learn balance and how to protect themselves psychologically from marketers as well as peers. I started talking to my kids when they were little about advertising, and I remember my oldest being maybe six or seven and watching a commercial and saying, "Mommy. They're trying to trick me into thinking I need that aren't they?" Seriously one of my proud mama moments. Anyway, thanks so much for writing and sharing all this. It sounds to me like your connection to your daughter is wonderful, and I know that makes all the difference in the world. Much love through these hard times.