Social media has removed the stigma around mental health issues, which is a tremendous improvement in society. Struggling mentally is no longer shameful or supposed to be kept hidden, but welcomed, and many new outlets for help have been introduced. With my time on social media, every time I scroll on Instagram or TikTok, I see a post regarding mental health with millions of views and thousands of comments. According to Mashable, “By all numerical accounts, there’s never been more people reporting mental health issues than right now — especially the young demographic that dominates social media.” 

Although the negative connotation surrounding mental health has been reduced, it has kickstarted trends that have serious consequences. The influx of mental health information posted can be misleading and untrue, and can leave viewers self-diagnosing their illnesses. Trends can also downplay severe conditions and blur the lines between just being sad and having a genuine mental illness. Mental illness can be seen as trendy, and specific trends encourage and glamorize having mental health issues. 

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Additionally, each of these aspects continue to negatively affect and skew younger generations’ perceptions of mental health, as the use of social media rises in those age groups. Sprout Social’s 2021 report showed that “Sixty-five percent of Gen Z consumers have increased their use of social media in the past year.” Due to the unfortunate consequences that these trends produce, this could be a harmful future. 

The persistent mental health content on social media has led to a self-diagnosing phenomenon. McGovern Medical School reports that “As therapy providers, we have seen an influx of people seeking treatment for personality disorders they have assessed and diagnosed for themselves based on social media content.” There are lots of dangers that go along with self-diagnosing yourself with what you see online, as fabricated information is everywhere on the internet; social media allows anyone to post whatever they want, so any person can pose as whoever they want to be — including a doctor or so-called “mental health professional.” 

Along with this, McGovern Medical also brings up the point that “younger people are quick to believe what they see on the internet without doing further research,” which is concerning because Statistica’s 2022 research shows that Gen Z’s leading news and information source is social media. Believing false information and self-diagnosing yourself can lead to adopting incorrect labels that don’t accurately reflect your experience or symptoms.

According to the Life Adjustment Team, a group of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Specialists, incorrectly diagnosing yourself can “exacerbate feelings of anxiety and depression, increasing the risk of harm, suicide, and other dangerous behaviors.” Additionally, misdiagnosing yourself can cause you and those close to you unnecessary stress and anxiety. Overall, the self-diagnosing phenomenon influenced by mental health trends clashes with the overall goal of getting yourself help when it is needed. 

Social media has desensitized us to the topic of mental health as a whole; it seems we have forgotten the vital distinction between feeling sad, a typical human experience, and being clinically depressed. Jinan Jennifer Jadayel is a co-author of a 2017 study that tracked social media posts about mental health. She reported to Mashable, “If healthy people are convinced that they’re depressed, they ultimately identify with the glamorized social media posts, aggravating the phenomenon even more.” 

Furthermore, Mashable mentions that “social media has increasingly blurred the line between what is authentic and what is performance – even within ourselves.” Trends have additionally glamorized mental health as a popular experience, as “while posting about our upsetting vibes may feel more real, for some, it might just be a new way to fit in online.” 

An aspect of Jadayel’s study focused on Instagram and Tumblr posts that glamorize mental illness with specific toxic hashtags. The research suggests that the result of portraying these illnesses as appealing on social media is more people identifying with these misrepresentations. Mental health trends can be destructive and lead to all sorts of harm.

The adverse effects of mental health trends are concerning for younger generations and the future to come. Rola Jadayel, another co-author of the prior social media study, mentioned reports that “more and more teenagers are convinced that depression, anxiety, anorexia, and bipolarity are ‘cool’ or can make you ‘special.’” The influence of trends combined with social media use is dangerous, as the medical journal JAMA Network analyzed the CDC’s data showing a dramatic increase in suicide rates among Americans 15- to 24-years-old. 

The damaging effects are shown once more in the American Psychiatric Association’s report that noted an increase in anxiety and depression among baby boomers in recent years. These trends present serious issues that need to be addressed before more lives are lost.

To fix these present issues, we must incorporate mental health education in schools to help younger generations understand what is real versus fake on social media and navigate the Internet more cautiously. Additionally, social media companies must improve their algorithms to limit misinformed and toxic content. Most importantly, younger generations must know that if they are struggling, the right thing to do is to reach out for help from medical professionals who will guide them to the correct diagnosis, instead of relying on social media.

Lily Blankenhorn is a freshman writing about the effects of modern technology on society. Her column, “Tech Talk,” runs every other Thursday.