Let’s take a few minutes this morning to talk about the important differences between social media, and therapy or actual mental health treatment of any kind. I know that we are sadly in an environment where finding a therapist - especially one qualified and experienced in the treatment of anxiety disorders - is a real challenge for many people across the world.
Social media sometimes plays a valuable role in the mental health community. But sometimes, social media is used as a replacement or substitute for therapy, which is not a good thing. Here are a few reasons why.
Social media influencers and content creators get rewarded when they drop boundaries, interact excessively, and never take time off. This is NOT healthy. This can lead an influencer or content creator into situations where they are creating content only for the sake of algorithms and not for the good of the consumer. A burnt out mental health influencer that creates mental health content just to get something out there so they don’t lose followers can be harmful.
A therapist or counselor, by comparison, is trained in setting healthy boundaries, taking care of themselves, and steering clear of burn out or overwhelm. A healthy helper is better equipped to actually help you.
Therapists are trained to follow professional and ethical guidelines. The credentials they hold are contingent upon following these ethics and best practices. It’s all designed to protect you, and the helper. Maintaining a safe and supportive space for everyone is vital Social media influencers and content creators can say anything they want for any reason without professional consequence.
And no matter what anyone says on Instagram in a pastel colored graphic or supportive-sounding reel, the Internet is NOT a safe space and never has been.
Social media influencers are there to capture and hold your attention, then to do that again and again by whatever means are necessary. Therapists are there to interact with you one-on-one in an intimate relationship based on trust, confidentiality and safety. Attention does not enter into it. There is no affinity based algorithm influencing your relationship with a therapist or counselor. The relationship is based on your well-being and very little else.
A therapist works for you and is ethically bound to protect your best interests. You (or your health care payor) compensate a therapist or counselor for the work they do. They are rewarded financially for helping you, or at least really trying to help you. A social media influencer is paid or otherwise compensated by others. They have a vested interest in satisfying needs that are not necessarily in line with yours. The income of an online influencer is based on how effectively they can grab and hold your attention, and how effectively they can get you to spend money on particular goods or services. This has nothing whatsoever to do with your well being or actual mental health, which are non-factors in the equation that leads to money for that influencer.
I can go on. There are issues that resolve around knowledge, training, supervision, scalability and even motive. But the lesson here is that while social media can be helpful, you must always consider the source of the material you are consuming and you must evaluate its appropriateness based on the concerns I’ve shared above.
There are plenty of exceptional, kind-hearted, well meaning and well informed social media content creators in the mental health space. But that’s not the whole space by any stretch of the imagination. One look at my email and social media inboxes will confirm that while in your eyes I may be a source of education and empowerment, in the eyes of a long list of companies selling questionable anxiety related products, I am a quick path into your wallet.
That is a sobering reality that you really should remain aware of.
I’m currently reading “Counseling Individuals Through The Lifespan”. No, I’m not that much of a nerd. I’m reading it because I have to. Its the textbook for one of my grad courses. This is kinda eating into my other reading, so this Tuesday feature might get a wonky going forward. ;-)
Every Tuesday I’ll let you know what I’m currently reading. I read quite a bit on psychology and philosophy, but really you never know what I’ll have in my Kindle or Audible libraries! If you’re on Goodreads and into books, you can follow/friend me over there. Here’s a link to my “currently reading” shelf. I’d love to see what you’re reading and what you recommend.
67. The Difference Between Social Media And Therapy