Excuse Our Ignorance

As social media has become a huge part of our everyday lives and the majority of us have accounts on sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. Each of these sites has gained millions of users worldwide.

By User:ZyMOS [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The uses of social media vary greatly, businesses have accounts to connect with their consumers and potential consumers, individuals may use the sites to update friends and family about their day to day lives, others might share news articles and other content they find interesting. Many of these people are involved in communities outside of social media however, social media platforms allows these communities to connect online as well as offline. They are an expression of people's identity, Tumblr especially.

There are many microbloggers on Tumblr who identify themselves as having mental health disorders and are more often than not on a varied scale of severity, they are an online community nonetheless.

Tumblr has become a place for those who are suffering with mental illness to reach out to one another, share content relatable to their lives and seek ways to improve their feelings and take steps for proactive change. It provides a support in addition to what the NHS can currently offer and eradicates some of the lonely feelings that many suffers of mental health feel.

Microblogging on Tumblr is also an excellent way for communities to get involved in current topics featured within mainstream news. Individuals involved in the community can develop the topic, discuss and progress the conversation adding insight and opinion. Platforms such as Twitter allow users to reply to the original user posting the content and consequently spark discussions as well as reaching out further into a community of people interested in adding to the conversation. I have previously discussed the benefits that Twitter can have. I personally found it very cathartic to share my story and battle with depression and anxiety through microblogging.

Have you shared your own personal experience via microblogging? How did you find it? Do you think that using social media platforms benefits discussing mental health issues in our society?

Created by: Samantha Clayson.

As the public we gain information about the events and affairs happening outside of our immediate world from the news. We can use the news as a reliable source to learn about problems, issues and current topics. The media also have a hefty job of setting the news agenda, what topics are important? What needs to be brought to the attention of the public and politician's?

However, journalism is relied upon to be objective and must also follow rules and regulations of ethical practices. The media, no matter how objective, has a huge impact on informing the publics understanding and their attitudes towards topics such as mental health.

Time To Change's media guidelines write, "when done well, news stories can be a tremendous tool. Well written news stories about mental health can raise awareness, challenge attitudes and help to dispel myths."

They continue to write, "however sensationalist journalism and over playing a risk of violence can promote fear and mistrust. It also widens the gap of understanding about mental health issues."

The use of language is especially important, using stereotypical phrases to describe those suffering with mental illness is inaccurate and also continues to reinforce stigma's attached to mental health issues. A really interesting post discusses why we should be so concerned about the way the media reports on mental health in more detail.

Journalists also face many ethical regulations, for example correctly dealing with sensitivity when reporting on mental illness and topics such as suicide. An interesting case study from the USA in 2010 sees an analysis of the way news outlets reported this particular case of suicide. The review of this particular situation, and like so many others in the UK, sees headlines and reporting increasing sensationalism about suicide cases. Speculation about the cause of suicide is often what becomes sensationalised.

Between 2007 and 2009 a town in Wales, Bridgend, saw 25 people commit suicide. News reporters tried to create a link between the deaths and social media cults. This was a case of extreme sensationalisation and ignited fear in many and leading them to believe the use of social media caused teens and young adults to commit suicide. In this instance the news, in most cases, did not successfully report with objectivity but increased fear amongst many and the story even made it in to vanity fair, amongst other global websites.

Where journalists breach ethical practices there become implications involving the law. The reporting of the Bridgend suicides saw the police critiquing the way the media reported the incidents. It is also concerning to think of Robin Williams suicide in 2014 and the sensationalised way his death was reported in the media. Hannah Osbourne for the International Business Times looked at the reporting of William's suicide in further detail. She also queries the lack of legal support for the families of those who committed suicide in Bridgend.

We should be concerned about the way the media has reported suicide over the years and the lack of changes that have been made to-date. Why are complaints not upheld? Why is suicide reporting so sensationalised and treated with little to no uphold by the law? How is this going to bring about positive change and diminish stereotypes? What is being done to make positive change? It seems the answer to this last question is, unfortunately, very little.