What’s social media got to do with mental health stigma?

What’s social media got to do with mental health stigma?

by | Feb 26, 2012 | mental health | 4 comments

I’ve been reading some of the literature on mental health stigma and thinking about the role social media can play in influencing attitudes and behaviours. Checking out the Time to Change campaign, which had 93,996 fans on Facebook and 13,865 followers on Twitter when I last checked, it is clear that social media is increasingly part of the mix. Just to give you an example of how messages/ideas can go viral on social media, when actress Rebecca Front tweeted: “Hey well known Twitterers. Fancy taking the stigma out of mental illness? I’ll start: I’m Rebecca Front & I’ve had panic attacks. #whatstigma” she got mental health hitting the top trending list. You can find out more about it it here . Here are a few of my initial ponderings about the role of social media as a platform for challenging stigma… Have you ever talked to someone about mental health? – Time to Change’s strap line is ‘it’s time to talk’ and this is based on research that getting people talking about mental health increases understanding. Face-to-face contact is the most effective way to positively influence discriminatory attitudes. However, it appears that contact has to be on an equal footing to be effective. Social media is a great equaliser. Twitter only allows you 140 characters whatever your status or income. I’m interested in the extent to which this sort of virtual contact may replicate direct contact. My friend’s ok with this so why shouldn’t I be? – I’ve seen quite a bit out there recently about the value of online trust – people trusting the people they follow more than they...

Social media – an essential item in the mental health care toolbox?

by | Feb 16, 2012 | mental health | 5 comments

What’s social media got to do with mental health care? A recent article by Stephanie Pappas summarises recent studies that suggest Facebook can be bad for our mental health. Reading other people’s status updates can make us feel worse about our own lives and make us negatively compare ourselves with others. 354 friends is the cut-off point for when participants in one study started to feel bad about viewing status updates. This raises some interesting questions for me about use of social media for all of us, and in particular for people experiencing mental health problems. To what extent can social media be a positive tool in a person’s recovery or an alienating one that exacerbates distress? What is the role of mental health professionals in helping people navigate social media so they can use it positively and avoid pitfalls? Should professionals be getting involved anyway? And if so, what do they need to know and understand themselves? There are various documents out there guiding healthcare professionals about how to use social media appropriately and in line with professional codes of conduct, for example, the Nursing and Midwifery Council guidance and the British Medical Association guidance. They quite rightly focus on the importance of upholding professional reputation and the potential serious consequences of breaches for registration. What they do not focus on is the extent to which professionals could/should help people navigate social media so they can use it as part of their recovery journey. As use of social networking continues to increase, is it the responsibility of mental health professionals to keep up-to-date with social media as a...

Relating 4 new media concepts to mental health

by | Feb 4, 2012 | mental health | 4 comments

Blimey…  my head is simultaneously bursting with my attempts to retain a whole load of new media literature and crushed by the realisation that my brain is way out of practice and needs significant re-tuning.   My discovery of the pomodoro technique  and app (free) has definitely helped me focus though and I’d recommend it to any other PhD procrastinators…   I’m beginning to think about how new media literature relates to issues that arise for me in a work context when thinking about social networking by people with lived experience and/or working in mental health services. Here are a few initial thoughts, questions and ponderings arising from a number of new media concepts outlined by Terry Flew in New Media: An Introduction (Oxford University Press, 2011). Digital divide – there’s lots of data out there about who isn’t and isn’t using social media. Who’s in and who’s out. I am curious about how people who are using our services are using social media? And what proportion of them are using social media to consume and produce information about mental health and wellbeing, for peer support, or to campaign? What’s the role of services in supporting digital inclusion and can we build this in to our care pathways?  How are staff within our NHS Trust using social media both personally and professionally? Are they making the connections and, if so, how? I plan to develop this thinking during the course of my research. Collective intelligence – I’m interested in the capacity of social media to expand collective knowledge and how, in particular, stories shared by people with lived experience of...
My adventure begins

My adventure begins

by | Feb 4, 2012 | PhD | 0 comments

This is the very beginning of my PhD journey. I have completed two Masters degrees, but the last one was in 1997, so I’m feeling rather rusty to put in mildly. Re-familiarising myself with reading anything more challenging than the Sunday papers is my major concern at the moment, so please don’t expect an searing insights just yet (hopefully a few to come in due course…). I have a few motivations for keeping a blog of my PhD adventure. I want to keep a record of my journey and I have a feeling that if I do it publically then I’m more likely to see it through. I also want to share what I learn with others who have similar interests – I think that keeping it all to myself for four years would be a bit of waste. Lastly, I want to find out what other people think – interaction is very important to me and I want to connect with other people who are keen on exploring the impact of digital media on people using and working in mental health services. Hopefully we can learn from each other. At the moment I’m getting my head round some of the communications media literature – completely new to me.  I have attempted to capture some of my very initial thinking about social structures and agency in a picture (at the suggestion of my supervisor) – I’m sure I’ll look back at horror at my naivety but I’ve decided to be brave and share it here – never can resist an opportunity for a doodle. I’d like to make a...