WASHINGTON: A research paper just released by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health revealed that the people creating content for social media and regularly posting it are exposed to such a risk of mental disorders that this risk is significantly higher than others.
Whether it be a short video or a daily vlog, social media platforms are saturated with content that is created either by full-time or by part-time digital creators. In fact, the researchers say, the effortlessly glamorous creator lifestyle is just an illusion, while in reality, it is extremely challenging.
According to a report extracted from my survey of some 500 entertainers from various locations of North America, depression and anxiety were indeed rampant among the participants. Nearly 62% of the people who took part in the study said that they had experienced burnout and associated it with the state of severe and deep exhaustion caused by the unceasing pressure of content production. Also, 65% of the respondents confessed that they had become obsessed with the success of their content, while 69% talked of financial insecurity despite their active online engagement.
Scientists acknowledge that unceasingly performing for a worldwide online audience is very draining emotionally. Some creators suggest that they are constantly experiencing insults, trolling, and negative reactions, and this, according to them, affects their mental health in such a way that it may deteriorate over time. A few of them even indicated that they have entertained thoughts of self-harm, although they have never gone as far as actually harming themselves.
Experts assert that those pressures arise from the fact that the struggle for new, attention-grabbing content while still maintaining audience engagement as well as balancing between online and personal life, is ongoing and relentless.
“The constant strain, the anxiety over possibly getting less followers, and the confusion between private and online life, these all contribute to a very detrimental effect on mental health.”
The research points to the need for mental health care facilities for digital creators as one of the most urgent issues being addressed in the world community of rapidly increasing professions.
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