Michael Hartup is a
YAW-CRC Project Officer. He has recently completed his honours
research at Swinburne University looking at the effect seeking help
online had on young rural and regional based men who had
experienced a mental health problem.
There are some obvious issues at play when we think about young
men and their mental health. Issues surrounding young men's
identity, in particular their feelings of masculinity, can often
appear destructive to their wellbeing. The traditional notion of
men being physically tough and emotionally closed off still plays a
prominent role. There are however other, more positive aspects of
masculinity such as feeling in control and being proactive that
also come into play. I believe it's important that we highlight
these more positive aspects of masculinity.
One of the key findings of my honours research I conducted last
year was that when confronted with a mental health problem, by
seeking help online young men felt as though they were able to take
a certain level of control over their problem. By applying a 'quick
fix' outcome to their situation, young men feel as though they are
able to manage their problem. Although mental health is very rarely
'fixed' in a short amount of time, for young men, approaching the
problem with this outcome in mind reinforces their masculinity as
well as their overall approach to health and problem solving. It
also gives young men a sense that they're taking responsibility for
their problems and actively dealing with them on their own
terms.
Seeking help online also offers young men a chance to
compartmentalise their problem. For the young man I interviewed he
stated that there was an 'isolation between conversation online and
conversation in person', which allowed him to separate his mental
health issue into something that he would only choose to explore
when he was online. Due to the great deal of stigma surrounding
mental health, especially amongst young men, there is often a fear
in telling your friends and family. By assigning a time and place
to the issue where young men can openly identify as being depressed
or suffering from another form of mental illness, they are still
able to put forward a more socially acceptable form of masculinity
in their offline world.
Given that young men typically do not seek help for mental
health problems, finding new, innovative and effective ways in
which to reach young men should be a main priority. It is my hope
that future research explores the possibilities seeking help online
offers young men experiencing mental health problems.
The
Cooperative Research Centre for Young People, Technology and
Wellbeing (YAW-CRC), led by the Inspire Foundation, unites young
people with researchers, practitioners and innovators from 70
partner organisations across the not-for-profit, academic,
government and corporate sectors.
Find out more about their work at:
http://yawcrc.org.au/