Media and Mental Health Essay Example

The twenty-first century is most well known for its technological advancements and the rise of the internet, promoting worldwide communication at one's fingertips. The steady incline in tech devices and amplified ways to always stay connected caused a direct correlation in media consumption, which is at the forefront of our society. What people watch and see online can form significant biases toward their real-life behaviors. Throughout society's push for current reform against topics once thought "taboo," the rise of mental illness and mental health portrayal isn't necessarily positive. The over-exaggeration of mental illness in the media perpetuates stereotypes affecting not only one's biases, but the lives of those discriminated against for being mentally ill. 

Constant media consumption demands that content is the most appealing and extravagant, leading to the dramatization of events to keep the audience attentive. Mental illness has been coming into the conversation more in the past few years, yet “the media contribute[s] to mental illness stigma through exaggerated [and] inaccurate [...] images.” (Srivastava et al.) It brings into question the motives of such media directors: whether the mental illness is a way for them to grab attention, or whether or not this was innocently misportrayed? A prime example of this over-exaggeration is the young adult/teen television show Euphoria, where the protagonist deals with her opioid addiction relapse and depression. The show paints a picture around her and, for the target audience, conveys that someone who is depressed must also be a drug addict and present extreme signs of depression: anxiety attacks, isolation, loss of interest, and the list keeps on going. There are extended periods where Rue (the main character) cannot get up and locks herself in her room and constantly thinks about death. Khorgade in her paper about “Mental Health and The Role of Media,” proposes that “those who spend more time on virtual platforms might assume it as reality”. According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the average teen spends nine hours a day on social media and entertainment, one-third of their day being exposed to media content. Depicting characters (i.e Rue from Euphoria) with inaccurate mental illness will cause people to gain a false understanding of mental illness (Gerbner, 2002). To a layman who only has an understanding of mental illness soley from exposure to media, they expect any person who is dealing with depression also to have a drug addiction and have suicidal tendencies. However, this is far from reality as the media fails to address the spectrum of ranges that exist for mental illness in real life. The portrayal and exaggeration of mental illness is unfair toward the people who deal with it differently. The representation of the full spectrum of a specific mental illness can assist in reducing the stereotypes associated as well as provide validation and support to those who are actually dealing with the specific illness. 

By focusing on extremist views, the media lacks the foundations to sensitize people toward mental illness but paints those with mental illness as villains and dangerous individuals. There is a fine line between sensitization and sensationalism and news outlets often “includ[e] dramatic descriptions of violent attacks and murders committed [...] by persons with psychiatric disorders.” (Srivatsava et al.) but fail to mention that only a minority of those dealing with mental illnesses are violent. This same statement is explored through Psychiatrist Eric Bender’s breakdown of the Joker in the video interview with GQ, where he points out that it is a very rare case, as he does with other mental illnesses he discusses that appear in movies and television. This villainization of those with mental health is shown in the Netflix Movie: Fractured, where the main character is said to be “insane” as he murders his wife and daughter. We follow the main protagonist Ray through his hallucinations and visions, only to realize that he was the main villain all along. The violence that Ray inflicts is “glamorized” (Srivatsava et al.) and causes “gross generalization [in media’s] reductionist understanding of mental health” (Khorgade). This violence often associated with mental illness was explored throughout class discussions and the multiple paper reading assignments. Specifically, in the labeling and deviance unit, Rosenhan points out that “all of [a persons’] behaviors and characteristics are colored by that label”, which does not necessarily apply accurately and can be “profoundly misinterpreted.” (Rosenhan 182) The depiction of mental illness is associated with violence and danger, affecting the lives who are labeled with mental illness in real life. Like the pseudopatients, those labeled “crazy” or “insane” by society are completely outcasts and automatically considered dangerous and criminal, never being able to escape society’s scrutiny and discrimination. The same can be said about multiple different social issues and how their root cause is stereotypes that are continuously perpetuated. A major social issue of 2020 was police brutality, in which the African American population was marginalized based on societal stigma and their relation to violence. Racial bias amongst the police force automatically labeled anyone African American to be a threat to society. This is seen throughout the handling of those being arrested, where Black individuals with minor offenses deal with more force and aggression as opposed to White individuals who have committed more serious crimes. The constant assumption that correlation is equivalent to causation and the lack of holistic approaches to mental health can be cancerous in society. 

The negative and inaccurate portrayal of mental illness fortifies and promotes misinformation and stereotypes that play a dominant role in shaping people’s outlooks. The broad outreach of media can be used to connect people and sensitize people to mental health and mental illness. Empathizing with those dealing with mental illness, we can begin to portray it accurately in the media. In the similar rise of the LGBTQIA+ community and the growing push for the media representation to be accurate, we must demand the same for other issues prevalent in society. By addressing mental illness and mental health in the media, we can further educate the public and create a push for a change in societal views on mental illness.