In the 90s, mental health was not something we often talked about, neither were there many people who felt comfortable talking about it. I never heard of depression, eating disorders, anxiety, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), etc. Should I blame this on the part of the world I grew up in? Mental health is still grossly overlooked across Africa. Much is left to be done irrespective of the several attempts to bring the issue to light.
There is a good number of reasons why mental health is still low in this part of the world, some of which include poverty, wars and conflicts, insufficient resources, lack of awareness, etc. These are just some of the few factors that hinder the talks and research on mental health. But, don’t get me wrong here. Many of us are stepping out to talk about mental health, mostly emphasizing depression and anxiety, yet there is still no significant research on how these symptoms can be managed medically.
Let me tell you a little about depression. I am a young Cameroonian who has seen quite a little. I completed University some years back, bubbly and free-spirited. I had always thought that I was going to get a job after I had finished my studies. Fast forward to 2 years later, applications dropped all over the country, no calls returned, I resorted to voluntary service and internships. I started living in my mind, and I dared not talk about my struggles with anyone. I felt I was not good enough. I lost confidence after looking back at all the money spent on my education and I could not even get myself a job. I spoke to a few persons and the conversations went like ‘we have also been out of school for a while and nothing to show for it, so forget.’ Others told me to pray about how I felt. I went about every day with a smile, but I’d be lost in my thoughts by the end of the day. I was very withdrawn, had a lot of negative emotions, and became very inefficient and unresourceful. Mental health is not written on the forehead hence we need to be very vigilant to notice some of these signs.
Many young people are struggling but there are very few facilities put in place to manage these struggles. Not leaving out the fact that we grow up in a highly religious part of the world and everything could be associated with the devil trying to mess with us. This calls for high spiritual interference, and very often to the neglect of the actual problem (with Cameroon being a case study). Normalizing seeking help, talking to a trained psychiatrist or actually going to the hospital for proper diagnosis, will help curb a lot of the pressures that young persons face today.
Talking about pressure, it comes from different aspects, the most prominent being social media and unemployment. Social media has become a place where young people, instead of getting the value it gives, choose to show off, shame others, flaunt lifestyles that do not exist, and send others into depression. It is okay to not be confident in your abilities or in yourself. No one was born confident; some just have it more than others while some learn it and ‘slay’ it very well. While social media has many advantages such as the University of YouTube and some amazing influencers advocating on different topics that are actually growing the society, there are also some ills such as anxiety, loneliness, fear of missing out, low self-esteem, to name a few.
We see a rising amplitude of crime rate amongst the youths, most of whom just want to get an iPhone, snap good pictures and flaunt on social media, to get a good number of likes and hype. We are social beings and we desire group interaction. When these pictures do not get the desired number of likes or interactions in the comments section as projected by the individuals, low self-esteem sets in, loneliness follows, and then depression. It is common to see a young and talented person drowning in sorrow just because of social media. It is highly disturbing that a young person can throw away all potential just because of a social media self-validation criterion.
Social media has become highly addictive and brings about ineffectiveness and less productivity. Scrolling through Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp status could literally take up one’s whole day. This plays so much on our mental well-being. We do not only scroll through but give analysis. This definitely slows productivity. If you are given a task that has to take two hours and you use one hour thirty minutes on social media feeds, the task is bound to suffer.
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Social media triggers more sadness and social isolation. We get false information from what we see on social media. In my country, we say everyone is ‘packaging’ on social media. Not everyone is mentally healthy to avoid the sadness that comes with what we see on social media. Comparison and competition have become very unhealthy and unproductive. Most certainly, there are also some positive aspects to social media. For example, I have a friend who saw an advocate on social media and immediately fell in love with advocating for persons with disabilities.
In my opinion, the negative effects of social media on mental health can really be handled. But this will only mean that we all be aggressive with our push against it and look out for one another. Yes, though easier said than done, it is possible. This is a completely different generation. Kids aged 13 years have smartphones and by the time they are 18, they would have fed their minds with so much already.
I will like to propose integrating social media lessons in schools. This will help curb low self-esteem that comes with the negative effects of social media. It is important that we teach these lessons to kids at a young age. We already know that some children and youths will listen to their teachers better than they listen to their parents. And these lessons should go right through to college for efficiency.
There should be programs too for parents to attend to be able to detect signs of depression in their kids. This could also be done as group therapy. It will foster education and parents will help in the education of kids on the use of social media. We have to tackle this from every angle. As soon as we can get all these mediums put in place, we will be saving our mental health.
Social media firms should also be able to use behavioural economics and signposting to create awareness. These firms are fast on the increase; it is only fair that they incorporate some of these techniques to help curb depression and other mental health signals.
A friend of mine always says “we are a sad generation with happy pictures on social media.” But, we can and must avoid that.
Thanks for sharing. Awesome article
Mental health is really a struggle in our country. Thanks for talking about it
It takes a lot to reflect on mental health , causes and possible ways to curb it.
No doubt, the present addiction of the younger generation to social media is causing untold damage to mental well being.