October 10th is World Mental Health Day. It is said that one in four people will experience a mental health problem in any year, but this year feels different. According to research, 60% of adults and 68% of young people have claimed their mental health got worse during the COVID-19 lockdown. 2020 has been tough for many reasons; being apart from family and friends, loss of jobs, money issues, loss of loved ones. We have had to deal with an endless amount of stress, and many people are still struggling to recover.
I can admit that I wasn't myself during lockdown. I had just lost my job, had to quarantine alone in a foreign country for nearly a month and really missed my family and friends. Everyday I would wake up, grab my phone and scroll on social media for hours, watching irrelevant videos on TicTok of people pranking their siblings. I could feel my enthusiasm deteriorate as my screen time quadrupled. So I performed a mini experiment on myself in June where I didn’t use my phone and laptop for one day (a whole day… how absurd). For one day I didn’t speak to my boyfriend or watch Netflix, but I could confidently admit that I felt more motivated and slept much better that evening. This didn’t even surprise me.
Although I can argue the problems that social media have on myself and others within society, I believe it has had many benefits to the arts. The creative industry has evolved to coincide with the development of Web 2:0, which has made it much easier for many artists to get jobs, especially during this pandemic when it has become more or less impossible. I consider myself slightly more old-fashioned and I haven’t yet used social media to promote myself, however, I am passionate about the arts and can recognise that this is an exciting breakthrough for the industry. I can envisage a time possibly over 10 years ago when other artists had to adapt to using emails as a way of applying for jobs. This may have been controversial at the time, but this concept is now our ‘normal’ and I have been fortunate enough to have secured two professional contracts with the use of my CV and showreel online.
Social Media has also allowed us to encourage and support each other during these uncertain times. When it comes to job loss, the creative industry has taken a massive hit. I have always felt lucky to purse a profession that I love so much, but this year, I felt discouraged. I was suffering the loss of my career. But I deflected this and instead put my time and energy into something new and exciting, which is what led me to becoming a SEN TA. Nonetheless my artistry will never leave me, which is why I felt insulted when I saw on the news that a big name in our government is encouraging artists to ‘retrain’. The training that we undergo is tough. We have been made into thick-skinned, versatile individuals. We have been given the skills to do many things (most of us have a ‘job on the side’ anyway), but to not have the ability to do what we love most is incomprehensible. No wonder our mental health has been effected. We are a community of performers who are normally very competitive, especially during auditions, but in these times of uncertainty, we are sharing our stories, encouraging each other, fighting for our careers and continuing to spread the love and passion online; which is unintentionally aiding good mental health in many people.
I could discuss for hours about how Web 2:0 is effecting our generation. I believe I have come to the conclusion that social media is there to be taken advantage of, but it's important to remember that we are always in control. Since lockdown, I have appreciated days where I can turn my phone off for a short while, to take a break from the online world and be inspired by other things beyond the screen. Today might be a difficult day for some, but it’s important to know that you are not alone. And there is a community of people who want to support you, even if you don’t know it.
References
Mind.org.uk, (2020). World Mental Health Day 2020. [online]. Available at https://www.mind.org.uk/get-involved/world-mental-health-day-2020/. Accessed on 09/10/2020
Mind.org.uk, (2020). How common are mental health problems. [online]. Available at https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-about-mental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/#:~:text=1%20in%204%20people%20will,week%20in%20England%20%5B2%5D. Accessed on 09/10/2020
Hi Alice, I loved reading this post. It's both thoughtful and thought provoking.
ReplyDeleteLockdown has been a huge struggle for so many people, especially in our industry, and social media has certainly had various affects - as you say, from draining the time with irrelevant video content to sharing the love and artists supporting each other.
I would be interested to try the experiment staying off your phone and laptop for a day and perhaps every once in a while that is what we should all do to remind ourselves that we can exist without it. Of course nowadays we need these things for essential communications, but taking one day off is a great way to tune into our emotions and realise how we are feeling, rather than just how we a reacting to everything we see online.
A lovely post xx
Hi Roanne, thank you for your lovely comment. You are right, social media does have many effects on us and there is so much irrelevant content online; it's very easy to become addicted to it. However, I managed to watch the BGT showcase of 'One Show More' because of how it was shared on social media, so for this I am truly grateful - what an emotional and powerful performance it was!
DeleteI would highly recommend to anyone to take some time away from technology/social media, even just for a few hours. It's crazy how much we depend on it! And I seem to notice so much more around me when I don't have the distraction. x
Hey Alice! Loved reading your post. This year has been incredibly difficult for so many people, so it makes it even harder knowing that the statistics say that even regardless of Covid, depression and suicide have been on a spike over the past few years.
DeleteI agree with what you say about social media, think it's good to take a day or two away from it...but the fact that we even have to say that? Is that an issue in itself? Rhi x
Hi Rhian, thank you for your comment. I know, it's crazy to think that if we want to take a break from social media we might have to mentally prepare ourselves for it first! x
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