Depression for the most part has been a hit seller, talking about death and no hope in many songs along with loneliness being glorified. Many leading artists have songs attempting to be dark and depressing since it’s selling to the youth. This has led to the feeling in itself to be common now.
Depression has become so common that many people see depression as a character trait and when they say they have depression, it’s taken lightly in most cases.
The statistics about suicide show that the rates have risen by a staggering 24% from 1999-2014 in the US alone and it doesn’t seem coincidental. So roughly 14 out of 100,000 people will commit suicide.
Do you think the rise of suicide and depression is caused by the rise of social media, glorification of it, or something else?
Hi Daniel! I completely agree, depression seems to be glorified. I think that it seems "edgy" and trendy to be depressed and further seen as a personality trait. Now, those common sad feelings are taken as depression and pushed too far. Instead of their sadness being dealt with in a healthy way, they take their "depression" to the extreme. Social media giving this false depression the spotlight has proven to be harmful and influences young minds who want to fit in. For example, I've seen people I know self harm because others did it. I also think that the depression rates have increased due to the increase of stressors that teens face today such as global warming, police brutality, and college pressure.
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ReplyDeleteI definitely think that suicide and depression has transcended normalization, and as you said Daniel, has nearly reached glorification. One of the biggest issues I’ve seen with this sense of glorification is with the rise of social media but more importantly, this newfound need to be ‘anti-basic’. As someone who has struggled with diagnosed mental health issues, it’s difficult to see depression being labeled as ‘quirky’ or ‘edgy’ by influencers on social media. However, I believe that art is a beautiful outlet of expression and talking about one’s personal experience is cathartic. In this age of progressive thinking and acceptance, as well as increased media integration into our lives, many communities love and care deeply for those who struggle with their mental health. At the same time, opportunistic people have used this and marketed off of a vulnerable demographic. I’ve seen people make t-shirts about having anxiety or depression. Depression and mental health is not a way to make yourself different nor is it something to exploit off of.
I believe that suicide and depression has become a "joke" at this point. Everyone claiming they're suicidal or have depression are just doing it for attention and in reality, they're fine, they're just feeling down. Many people that joke about it present day take away the severity of people who are actually depressed. Everyone won't think twice about those who suffer from depression anymore because it's normalized nowadays and it's taken lightly.
ReplyDeleteHi Chris! I do not think you should believe suicide and depression is a "joke", and I do understand that social media trends have presented it that way. However, you will never know that someone is at the edge of taking away their own life, so I believe it is better to take caution than just brush it off. Yes, it's true in some situations that people are just feeling down, but I rather help them feel better than let them slowly fall into depression.
DeleteI know people have definitely romanticized and glorified depression, anxiety, OCD, and more. I see it a lot on social media and I don't think people should think of it as a trend or something to want. These things change people's lives and shouldn't be taken lightly. When I was younger I used to have bad anxiety, so I know what it's like, and yes its gotten better, but it's still there a lot of the time. So when I see people on social media talking about these things thinking it's "cute" or "trendy" I genuinely don't understand why they would want that because it sucks, and if it gets bad enough, it can take over your life.
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