Chinue, a young mind tackling mental health in the digital age

Inspired by her mother who worked as a counselor at rehabilitation centers, she took a short course in criminology at Kenya’s Daystar University and visited Madhare mental asylum and saw how criminals with mental health issues were treated, this raised her curiosity about how mental illness plays a part in one becoming a criminal.

In the day and age of social media, which was invented to unite the world and make it one village, it has rather become the epicenter of all the mental health issues among the GenZ and has led to disastrous behavior among the youth all in a quest to live a fantasy life one sees on social media.

The anxiety that has come with social media has come at a humongous price, mostly young people who have to live up to the impossible standards of life they show online and most have had devastating consequences.

Chinue says many people her age, have expressed in one way or another about the depression on the same online platforms they frequent but in most cases, it goes unnoticed or ignored, partly due to the fact a country like Tanzania might not necessarily have the adquent facilities, resources to cater to that. As these young people are coming of age and maturing, they go through so many emotions and turmoil and social media only adds to the depression either in other people portraying a fake life that the young person will envy, or the body shaming that is synonymous with so many people wanting to look like supermodels and movie stars when even the movies starts do not look like that in real life.

“On the flip side, people don’t take mental health seriously, a lot GenZ self-diagnose and again because of not enough resources available,” she said.

Mental health facilities are not only unavailable for a common citizen but there are no discourses around the topic, expressing depression is seen as a normal part of life and not a condition that requires immediate intervention. Indeed the world of materialism has always enticed the youth for decades but for GenZ their generation gets to see wealth flaunted every day on Instagram when he/she hasn’t even had a meal, and this is depressing and can in most cases affect one’s health and even lead the young person towards the road of criminality to accrue the wealth is violent means just to keep up with the glamor.

Chinue says these displays of wealth online in most cases are just facades, the car might not even belong to the youth showing off online, it could be his parent's vehicle or even a rented ride but one would post to seem like it’s theirs.

“Don’t idolize or worship the wealth you see online and take things at face value” she said.

She added that social media platforms can sometimes make one feel hopeless especially when a young person going through everyday struggles sees his/her peer doing well in life having never even ridden a daladala in his/her life.

Social media is often one-sided remember everyone wants to show themselves in the best light, those driving nice cars might have had to face bankruptcy, or taken a loan to buy the car, and could even have ill-gained wealth that could get one in trouble with the law trying to emulate that lifestyle.

Chinue advice fellow young people to accept the fact that everyone is on a different journey, you see the social media posts that make you wish for that lifestyle, but instead, just acknowledge that is their journey and their life might be real or not but coming to terms with the situation help alleviate the jealousy and envy you might get.

She also said another trick you can use to avoid social media might be a remedy, if you are not busy with studies, do not spend all your day scrolling and spending an unhealthy amount of time on social media, coz its very easy to be sucked in and arise the feelings of jealousy.

Unemployment in this era of social media is excruciating for young people, when you do not have money to sustain your life and not being able to afford basic things is stressful and leads to depression, when you do not have money it affects the social life, no one wants to be associated with a broke person so that leads to isolation which leads to total depression and feeling of being lonely, this can temp a young person to gang up with others like them and involve in illegal activities to get money or they end up committing suicide.

Getting grounded in the community is vital to one’s mental health, taking a walk, hiking and just being close to nature will do wonders in rejuvenating one’s body and mind she said. Spending less time on the phone and more time with people would heal you. Social media has also been an avenue for young girls and boys to attract so-called ‘sponsors’ older men and women who use money to lure young people into sexual relationships.

That is now seen as a great escape from poverty and at least living the life of riches and flaunting the social media audience showing your improved social status.

Chinue cautions against this path, it may lead to sexually transmitted diseases and abuse, and society might shun a young person engaging in such kind of transactional relations.

 Instead, she urges the youth to pursue education, attaining a degree could lift them out of poverty and give them a better chance for a better life without jeopardizing their mental and physical health.

Another Trending youth behavior that social media has promoted is the ‘party lifestyle’ that involves intoxication and drug abuse, the entertainment that youth consume has made it even worse, where the young people celebrate that kind of lifestyle.

That could be a way of running away from reality or dealing with depression, at the intoxicated state of mind, one feels free from the worldly torment that the youth facing all the challenges in life with no one to confide in, pick up the bottle or pop pills to escape their world albeit momentarily.

Chinue points to the fact that young people are not in a position to fully make a sound choice under the influence of drugs and even getting into them is deadly because their brains are not fully developed and vulnerable young people should avoid the drugs lest they damage their brain cells.

“Peer pressure is something young people go through and at 18-19 years of age, you can’t weigh the pro and cons of partaking in drugs,” she said, “you try once and you are sucked in it and you do not realize it until its too late” she added.

Chinue stands to have a better job in the US, but she is determined to come back to Tanzania and find a way can contribute to society, she is currently bouncing ideas with her mother and evaluating the options she has in Tanzania.

“I would like to teach, I am currently doing my research on how the University of Dar es Salaam is teaching psychology and the scope of it, so am looking at the gaps and the needs and see in the future how I can come in,” she said.

Doing psychology in Tanzania doesn’t come with an assured job security as it's not a very common line of study and doesn't offer a clear career path and she hopes to change that.

China insists that living a fake life on social media is prone to affect your physical life and the toil it takes mentally catches up with you and if you can, just leave it.

On the matter of body shaming that is now common on social media, she states that it leads to mental illness among youth, some have taken fatal plastic surgeries, and has led to young girls making consequential decisions that have changed their lives forever.

At the bottom line this psychology and criminology graduate points to parents who end up with the blunt end of the ills of social media, some parents have lost their children due to social media influences and some have had their kids locked behind bars trying to keep up with the millage that is social media.

She says teenagers are most likely to hide things from their parents and it should be the effort of a parent to establish a line of trust and communication with their children, that will make them more comfortable to tell you the kind of stuff they are seeking and be more open to listen to your advice once you give it to them.

The act of blocking them from TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram is not the solution as they can always find a way around it she said. Some social media companies have proactively taken a step towards guarding the teens Instagram has started teen Instagram that targets that age group and has age-appropriate content for them.

Chinue urges young people to speak to someone, when you are overwhelmed with life speaking up can be the difference between life and death, a lot of young people have been able to fundraise on social media when they come forward with their troubles. It is never a good idea to suffer in silence, someone out there cares, “tell someone, your parents, friends, or the society, Tanzanians are loving and caring persons to the core, and people are willing to help out if they are aware of your plight” she concluded.