Mock Performance Task #1 IRR

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Depictions Caused by Mental Health-Related Statements in the Media

Word Count: 969

Social media was developed with the intent of producing a platform where individuals

may connect. Over time it has been made clear that despite the attempts to maintain the original
objective of social media, the negatives are capable of outweighing the benefits. Similarly, news

outlets, articles, and magazines are formed with the intent of informing the general public. Yet,

they have flaws that impact the depiction several individuals have on a given topic. Informal

discussions and disputes on mental health take place in all sorts of media every day. One of the

more prevalent mental illnesses of the discussion is obsessive-compulsive disorder. “The

widespread use of #OCD indicates that social media users often trivialize the disease” (Pavleko

1). Obsessive-compulsive disorder is oftentimes self-diagnosed amongst users of social media

platforms such as Twitter (Pavleko 1). The media’s depiction of obsessive-compulsive disorder

also provokes individuals to compile ideas. Through similar studies, it is further emphasized that

the media often portrays mental illness in such a way that its impact on readers is often negative.

But, the media has the ability to form connectivity to individuals with mental health disorders.

So, what impact does the depiction of mental illness through the media provoke on individuals

with mental illness and the media’s followers?

As suicide becomes a more prevalent story in the media, it may be determined that media

coverage strictly states one perspective of the story. Recently through the media, there has been

much debate about whether controversial TV series, such as “13 Reasons Why”, glorifies or

spreads awareness on the matter of suicide. In a study conducted by Carmichael and Whitley,

two currently employed at the Douglas Mental Health Institute, 80% of the articles that discussed

the impact “13 Reasons Why” had, believed that the TV series glorified or romanticized suicide,

and that it would then lead young teens to destructive decisions. It may also be fair to

acknowledge that only 25.4% of said articles mentioned methods and groups to reach out to due

to inclined feelings of suicide (Carmichael, Whitley 5). In a similar study conducted by Blood

and several other authors with sensible and appropriate degrees, the impact Australian news
outlets have on suicide is reviewed. It stated that, “news stories about extreme of rare cases,

such as linking mental illness to violence, tend to stigmatize mental illness; and generate fear of

mentally ill people in the community”. Fear is built within said individuals due to the lack of

accessibility suicidal individuals have to mental health services (Blood et. al 6). In addition, the

media tends to not offer solutions or possibilities for individuals with suicidal tendencies to

recover. Therefore, depictions viewers have based on the information provided gives them a

pessimistic viewpoint on suicide.

The media may be proven to have positive outlooks on individuals enduring mental

health conditions; yet, reforms should still be considered in order to fully achieve this. A study

conducted by Nairn, a dedicated researcher at Massey University, looked into the impact that

psychiatrists and other mental health professionals may have on the media. Within the study, it

may be concluded that if mental health professionals are to begin the spread of factual and

positive content in the media, “they will have to develop closer relationships with journalists and

a better appreciation of media priorities and practices,” (Nairn 1). The professionals are clearly

distinguished as knowledgeable, unlike the false news covering mental health in the media. Yet,

the issue with this is that not all positive content is considered to be newsworthy (Nairn 1). In

order to change the dominating negative opinion the media has on mental health, it is essential to

get those positive viewpoints into the media. Positive viewpoints of mental health have the

possibility to lead and encourage individuals with mental illnesses to develop social networks.

This is considered in a study conducted by Crotty and several other researchers with over 15

years of experience with quantitative and qualitative data. Connectivity could be beneficial to

one’s condition because mentally ill individuals tend to have small support groups (Crotty et al.

3). In fact, “people with schizophrenia who lack social networks report higher levels of stigma
and depression,” (Crotty et al. 2). Therefore, through the use of social media, connectivity

between mentally ill individuals may be established. The use of a newfound support group may

decrease the immediate need certain individuals have to their given mental health professional

(Crotty et. al 2). In fact, individuals who tend to rely on their mental health professionals desire

more support from other sources (Crotty et. al 2). The media has the possibility to depict mental

health in a positive light which may lead to further connectivity amongst individuals with mental

illnesses.

The media has a substantial amount of potential to fully back their original objective of

providing news breaking information or allowing for individuals to connect. Yet, currently, the

negatives outweigh the positives. False remarks about mental illnesses are made, allowing the

mentally ill to feel disregarded. False diagnoses of mental illnesses are made, similar to the

OCD epidemic, and individuals will poke fun at the characteristics of individuals with mental

illnesses. Oftentimes, optimistic outlooks on mental illnesses are overshadowed due to the lack

of availability it has to be newsworthy. “Mental illness has also been associated with a loss of

social ties through social distancing arising from the stigma experienced by people with mental

illness,” (Crotty et al. 2). In future instances, individuals in the media industry should have a

duty to provide a sense of optimism in mental illnesses. Furthermore, it is crucial to reflect upon

the impact depictions of mental illnesses in the media have on a variety of people.

Works Cited

Carmichael, Victoria, and Rob Whitley. "Suicide Portrayal in the Canadian Media:

Examining Newspaper Coverage of the Popular Netflix Series '13 Reasons Why.'"
SpringerLink, SpringerNature, Dec. 2018, link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12889-018-

5987-3. Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.

Crotty, Mikaila M. "Analysis of Social Networks Supporting the Self-Management of

Type 2 Diabetes for People with Mental Illness." SpringerLink, SpringerNature, Dec.

2015, link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12913-015-0897-x. Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.

Nairn, Raymond. "Does the Use of Psychiatrists as Sources of Information Improve

Media Depictions of Mental Illness? A Pilot Study." Sage Journals, 1 Aug. 1999,

journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1080/j.1440-1614.1999.00587.x. Accessed 10 Oct.

2019.

Pavelko, Rachel L., and Jessica Gall Myrick. "That's so OCD: The Effects of Disease

Trivialization via Social Media on User Perceptions and Impression Formation." Science

Direct, Aug. 2015, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S074756321500182X.

Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.

Warwick Blood, Richard, et al. "The Media Monitoring Project: A Baseline Description

of how the Australian Media and Portray Suicide and Mental Health and Illness."

Research Gate, Jan. 2001,

www.researchgate.net/profile/Richard_Blood/publication/43493731_The_media_monitor

ing_project_A_baseline_description_of_how_the_Australian_media_report_and_portray

_suicide_and_mental_health_and_illness/links/0c960533cf7bd17e95000000.pdf.

Accessed 10 Oct. 2019.