A rather unpopular opinion was expressed on March 18, 2019 through an article originally published on The Hill Times titled “When it Comes to Our Mental Health, Don’t Forget the Social Media Connection” by Aidan Scott. Written from the perspective of somebody with mental health struggles, this article differs from the majority as it primarily proposes the idea of potential social media benefits as opposed to the commonly known dangers. Discussed chiefly is the existence of internet support systems and the interconnected online mental health community from which he claims to have had received much help.
When I first began reading the article, my initial attitude toward it was objection. I attribute this to my own viewpoint on the topic: that social media ultimately is detrimental to your psychological well-being. Still, however, reading over the full text it became clear that the author himself has experienced mental health challenges first-hand and should know best how to counter them. This offered me an entirely new perspective which I grew to accept and can even now see its validity in certain cases. However, being an opinion piece, the article obviously presents bias, though does so in a way that promotes health and support for those suffering psychologically/emotionally. It assesses the importance of seeking help and how social media can actually have a positive influence on society and anyone suffering from mental illness or internal struggles.Word choice which suggests bias includes the description of social media as “life saving” and addressing those who “paint [it] the ‘bad guy’” in a somewhat negative light. Self promotion also manifests itself in the paragraph discussing the app Speakbox (created by the author himself) used as a support-system for those undergoing psychological problems. For the stylistic elements, I do take particular liking to the introduction as a brief summary of potential dangers; this reinforces the writer’s point that a vast array of internet benefits unbeknownst to many prior to reading the article exist. This allowed me to see that perhaps with regards to this issue positives do occasionally outweigh the negatives. Opening up about mental illness is important and it shows here how the author has grown more confident with their inner self; they owe this to aid through the internet. I can definitely see the concept of greater ease in seeking support anonymously, especially online where there many others who feel the same share their own stories. To truly strengthen understanding on an issue, one must sometimes set aside their personal values and explore those of others.
Media Mind 