Peeking Inside Netizens' Minds on Mental Health Issues in Social Media
In the current era, social media is no longer just a place to show off aesthetic holiday photos. Consciously or not, our social media has transformed into a mass ‘confession booth’. People are now increasingly bold in discussing their thoughts and emotions openly. But the question is: are our netizens truly empathetic and caring, or is this just a trend to look cool?
A recent data analysis attempts to peek into what is actually on netizens’ minds when they talk about mental health.
From thousands of conversations circulating on the internet, the data is split into two camps with a very thin margin:
52.2% of netizens gave positive responses (supporting, creating educational content, or simply offering encouragement).
47.8% of netizens still gave negative responses (judging, being cynical, or trivialising the issue).
This figure shows that the caring camp is indeed winning, but only by a narrow margin. This is good news because it indicates that society is beginning to realise that mental disorders are real, not just a matter of ‘lacking faith’ or ‘being ungrateful’ as the old stigma suggested.
Why does venting on social media feel easier? Psychologically, there is a term called the online disinhibition effect. Simply put, when we use social media, especially with a private or anonymous account, our self-defence shields automatically loosen. We feel safe because we are not facing others directly. The feeling that ‘nobody knows me here’ ultimately makes people much more honest and brave in pouring out pent-up frustrations they have been keeping to themselves.
Moreover, global health institutions like the WHO continuously remind us that being healthy is not just about the physical body, but the mind and mental state must also be sound. This global campaign has been picked up by local content creators to start a mental health literacy movement on our social media.
However, we must not celebrate too soon. The negative sentiment figure, which nearly touches 50%, is a danger alarm. This means the ghost called ‘stigma’ is still haunting our comment sections. Psychology experts have long warned that stigma, whether from the cruel typing of netizens or the internal shame of the individual, is the biggest wall preventing people from seeking treatment. Many people end up choosing to suffer in silence and refuse to see a psychologist for fear of being labelled ‘crazy’, ‘weak’, or ‘just seeking attention’ by netizens.
Looking at the data above, we now know the actual reality. Our netizens have indeed taken steps in the right direction, but the journey is still long. Changing the minds of millions of people certainly cannot happen instantly. Given that the number of people who like to be cynical is still very high, our task now is to ensure our thumbs do not become toxic as well. Let us make social media a warm place for healing, not a place to judge other people’s wounds. Because as the WHO says: there is no health without mental health.