Mental Health and Online Life

Triggered. Mental health fired up.

‘Triggered’ is not really a turn of phrase I like.

However, it is one that describes how I’ve felt on several occasions over the past two weeks or so. Consumption of online content in all its variety is common for most of us. It has probably got a lot to answer for in terms of the current mental health crisis affecting the UK. More on that later.

I happen to be a mild-mannered person. Yet, during the last ten days, I have felt literally angry (seething almost) over a series of online content manifestations. I’ve been irked by posts on social media, possibly overreacted to a controversial email, and become aggrieved at a random LinkedIn lady framing her career activity as significant.

Let me elaborate.

Corporate Hypocrisy

I’ll start with the mildest of issues (in terms of my reaction, not the scale of the underlying issue). In the run up to Mothering Sunday it was International Women’s Day, and as expected, a great many companies acknowledged the occasion with a social media post.

This is typically pictures of women who work at said company and a quote or two about their achievements. This is maybe ok, if a bit forced. What strikes me though is the inconsistency and, at times, the sheer hypocrisy of these acknowledgments.

Take the large retailer Boots. In the same week as marking IWD, they announced the return of all their admin staff to five days a week working in an office environment. A part of a wider trend that is more inconvenient for women than men.

A pure example of doing the bare minimum. Companies masquerading as supportive without committing to real change or understanding the deeper issues at hand. This superficiality isn’t just annoying. It is harmful to positive change.

Email enragement

The next thing that made my blood boil was straight out of the blue. A Substack newsletter I subscribe to (on the topic of cryptocurrency) sent out an unexpected polemic against charity and empathy. Pretty much claiming these human character traits are for the weak and the stupid.

I was enraged. I was angry. But sadly, my options were limited.

All I could do was send a curt reply that may never be read, hit the ‘unsubscribe’ button, and fire off a tweet mentioning the company (that may also never be read). If I had more time, I would try to get to the bottom of who thought that was an ok email to send to a broad mailing list.

However, the company being what it is, it is probably staffed by gym-loving twenty-somethings on carnivore diets who couldn’t care less.

Fudged frames of reference

Finally (queue drum roll) finding a social media post on the supposedly professional networking site was the biggest trigger for me. Essentially it framed the author’s workplace-conflict resolution training as crucially important given the backdrop of atrocities in Ukraine and Gaza (mistakenly referring to the latter as a conventional war).

Four days the post had been up, before I came across it. Thirty or so positive reactions and a number of supportive comments suggested the author had a following. The impression is she somehow meant well, but this is problematic.

I left a comment highlighting the problem with the connection she had made. I pointed out that it trivialized human suffering, and that the author should have a think before posting in this way in the future. Unfortunately, it was her post. She could control the context. Within twelve hours she had deleted my comment.

The irony is not lost on me that a conflict-resolution trainer handled a disagreement simply by getting rid of the first bit of alternative input.

Muddled Mental Health

There’s three occasions the manifestations of the internet realm have reached into my psyche and whipped up an antagonistic emotion. I also came across a report in the same week, which claimed to have found that the UK had the second worst mental health out of the seventy-one countries studied. We must be collectively miserable right now.

I was a bit shocked.

I had thought things were getting better for the national picture, but it seems they are getting worse. Probably much worse than the figures reveal. Could it be the digital realm holds a mirror to the broader societal challenges we face, especially in the context of mental health?

Maybe this is how we got here. Could it be, this is why our companies feel they can get away with shallow sentiments on important causes, employees think they can mail out offensive nonsense, and other individuals believe there’s not much difference between office banter and state-sponsored mass murder?

Well, the national mental health crisis in the UK is a complex issue, rooted in systemic problems and exacerbated by the unique pressures of the digital age. I don’t know how much the issues I’ve highlighted are linked, I’m just left wondering what we can do about it. Let me have a stab.

Small steps to better Mental Health

I’m all about taking small steps at the moment. Here are my suggestions in this sphere of life. First off, we must become more critical consumers of online content. We can’t just be getting constantly wound up. This is not a mindful way to be. When we are quick to react, our mental health suffers.

So, this means not just passively consuming content but actively questioning its source, intent, and impact. When we encounter content that promotes harmful stereotypes or misinformation, taking a moment to counteract it can make a difference.

Secondly, I strongly believe promoting open and supportive conversations about digital habits and mental health can have a ripple effect. Encouraging friends, family, and colleagues to share their experiences helps bring about a better culture. This support network is also crucial for those who may be struggling in silence.

On a community level, supporting local mental health initiatives can amplify their reach and effectiveness. Volunteering time, donating resources, or simply spreading the word about their work can strengthen the support structures available to those in need. The crypto bros who authored the random email would most likely hate that sentiment.

Finally, advocating for policy changes that address the root causes of mental health issues is vital. This could involve supporting campaigns for better mental health services or initiatives aimed at tackling the socioeconomic determinants of mental health.

Not a sexy subject I realise, but an important one. I will now endeavour to take a break from online activity… wish me luck.