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I'm on mental illness TikTok and I've watched this trend develop. Happy to answer any questions as someone that spends hours a day scrolling. My main takeaway

I'm on mental illness TikTok and I've watched this trend develop. Happy to answer any questions as someone that spends hours a day scrolling. My main takeaways are this: * People with mental illness are finding each other, sharing their experiences, and it's enormously validating for them. The algorithm is bringing them together and it creates a lot of engagement because there's a highly charged emotional human connection thing happening. * The short form recording/publishing experience on a phone is so accessible to people that we're getting totally new viewpoints. I follow a schizophrenic that draws the faces he sees. It's fascinating. I'm sure this content will be researched for years. It's a self-reporting gold mine. * People are struggling, finding community, then seeking the help of mental health professionals. That's a good news story. * There's a lot of actual mental health professionals on TikTok spreading good information. It's fairly obvious who's legitimate.

remarkEon 5y ago
I'm asking this question in genuine good faith: Do you think that social media apps (not necessarily just Tiktok, but the lot of them) are contributing to an acceleration of this trend?
- yata69420 5y ago
  The technology is helping similar people find each other in the same way that related YouTube videos help you find similar content. In a way, it's because the person and the content are merging. So yeah, it's accelerating, but it's probably a good trend. GMA spins it weirdly because they're a boomer outlet, but fundamentally it's a generation waking up to mental health issues because an algorithm is putting that content in front of the people that are likely to have those issues. Personally, I never gave much serious consideration to the idea that I have autism. But after watching a lot of recommended content, it's pretty likely that I do and the algorithm was right in identifying similarities. I'm not going to get a formal diagnosis because it doesn't serve any purpose for me, but I have no doubt I could. The algorithm also thinks I'm a communist lesbian, which is very far off the mark, but I can sort of see why it would have binned me that way based on the content that I find interesting. For people that haven't directly interacted with TT, I'd encourage just because it's so impressive. It will find interests you didn't even know you had. In some cases, that might be how you figure out you have ADHD or that you're gay or whatever your special group is that you didn't know you were a part of yet.
  - DiggyJohnson 5y ago
    Thanks for sharing your experience, yours seems to be the positive side of the phenomenon in question. I think we’re the same age, so keep that in mind, but I can’t help but disagree with the thrust of why you think this is a good thing. I think that increasing the efficiency of connecting individuals to communities based on real or perceived mental health problems creates new challenges that may nullify the positive aspects.
    - yata69420 5y ago
      > creates new challenges that may nullify the positive aspects It's a good thing because it means that finally something is changing. We're developing a shared language and having a discussion about these really prevalent untreated mental issues. I'm watching people discover that they're actually not "lazy" or "stupid" or "not good enough" or "an introvert", but that they actually have "sensory issues" or "meltdowns" or "executive dysfunction" or "social anxiety". Simply having the language to discuss these things is very powerful. It reminds me a lot of when gay people started labeling things and creating cultural norms. Or when "new atheism" spread through the internet and made not believing a mainstream acceptable position (well, mostly, we're getting there). I remember the first time I met other atheists and realized that I wasn't crazy after all. Tons of people are having that moment now for mental health disorders. Also, you might not realize the scale of the problem. The estimated number of just children suffering with mental health disorders is about 10% and increasing (primarily ADHD, anxiety, depression). The real number is probably double that.
      - deleted 5y ago
        [deleted]
gabaix 5y ago
What do you mean that you are on mental illness Tik Tok? Do you work for Tik Tok?
- 1123581321 5y ago
  It means to follow or participate in that community within tiktok as a user.
cwkoss 5y ago
I think DID tiktok is different and more concerning than the other support-group style subcommunities. DID is an extremely rare disorder, and all of the videos I've seen seem very performative. I think the majority of DID tiktok probably doesn't have DID, but they found that it gives them attention. I definitely worry that performing a mental disorder for attention for a prolonged period could lead to actual disorders.

remarkEon 5y ago

I'm asking this question in genuine good faith: Do you think that social media apps (not necessarily just Tiktok, but the lot of them) are contributing to an acceleration of this trend?

yata69420 5y ago
The technology is helping similar people find each other in the same way that related YouTube videos help you find similar content. In a way, it's because the person and the content are merging. So yeah, it's accelerating, but it's probably a good trend. GMA spins it weirdly because they're a boomer outlet, but fundamentally it's a generation waking up to mental health issues because an algorithm is putting that content in front of the people that are likely to have those issues. Personally, I never gave much serious consideration to the idea that I have autism. But after watching a lot of recommended content, it's pretty likely that I do and the algorithm was right in identifying similarities. I'm not going to get a formal diagnosis because it doesn't serve any purpose for me, but I have no doubt I could. The algorithm also thinks I'm a communist lesbian, which is very far off the mark, but I can sort of see why it would have binned me that way based on the content that I find interesting. For people that haven't directly interacted with TT, I'd encourage just because it's so impressive. It will find interests you didn't even know you had. In some cases, that might be how you figure out you have ADHD or that you're gay or whatever your special group is that you didn't know you were a part of yet.
- DiggyJohnson 5y ago
  Thanks for sharing your experience, yours seems to be the positive side of the phenomenon in question. I think we’re the same age, so keep that in mind, but I can’t help but disagree with the thrust of why you think this is a good thing. I think that increasing the efficiency of connecting individuals to communities based on real or perceived mental health problems creates new challenges that may nullify the positive aspects.
  - yata69420 5y ago
    > creates new challenges that may nullify the positive aspects It's a good thing because it means that finally something is changing. We're developing a shared language and having a discussion about these really prevalent untreated mental issues. I'm watching people discover that they're actually not "lazy" or "stupid" or "not good enough" or "an introvert", but that they actually have "sensory issues" or "meltdowns" or "executive dysfunction" or "social anxiety". Simply having the language to discuss these things is very powerful. It reminds me a lot of when gay people started labeling things and creating cultural norms. Or when "new atheism" spread through the internet and made not believing a mainstream acceptable position (well, mostly, we're getting there). I remember the first time I met other atheists and realized that I wasn't crazy after all. Tons of people are having that moment now for mental health disorders. Also, you might not realize the scale of the problem. The estimated number of just children suffering with mental health disorders is about 10% and increasing (primarily ADHD, anxiety, depression). The real number is probably double that.
    - deleted 5y ago
      [deleted]

gabaix 5y ago

What do you mean that you are on mental illness Tik Tok? Do you work for Tik Tok?

1123581321 5y ago
It means to follow or participate in that community within tiktok as a user.

cwkoss 5y ago

I think DID tiktok is different and more concerning than the other support-group style subcommunities. DID is an extremely rare disorder, and all of the videos I've seen seem very performative. I think the majority of DID tiktok probably doesn't have DID, but they found that it gives them attention. I definitely worry that performing a mental disorder for attention for a prolonged period could lead to actual disorders.