Stop Opening Up About Your Mental Health Online
8th February 2024
Something I’m increasingly sceptical of in modern mental health culture is this constant insistence to open up. Share your story! says every celebrity. Speak out! says every company. Men aren’t opening up enough, says pretty much every mainstream publication. In fact last week in the UK it was #TimeToTalk Day, urging us to “be more open about mental health and share how we really feel”.
My main concern with this is that Gen Z are very lonely and screen-addicted and so often take this advice and start opening up online. All over the internet, my generation are sharing their autism traits, ADHD habits and Tourette’s tics. Plus deeply personal moments: traumatic events, anxiety attacks and mental breakdowns. On TikTok #mentalhealth has over 127 billion views; #trauma alone has almost 30 billion.
The chief problem with ‘social media’ is that it encourages everybody to be LAME (“Look At Me, Everybody”), and NOBODY CARES.