Social media…what affects does it have on those in journalism and their mental health?
Journalism has evolved throughout decades of new technology being developed. Social media has and will always be a big factor to what journalism has become in the 21st century. However, the added pressure to make sure the information that is being told is real can be a big downfall to someones career. “Journalists are attacked on social media for doing their jobs. They are also being asked to do more work because of resource issues. Monitoring social media is another plate to spin as journalists are asked to retrain, pivot and do more work for less money.”
The Fall of Journalism
Journalists have been addicted to social media from the moment people knew of social media. From the moment they open their eyes in the morning until the last scroll at their accounts before closing their eyes, an important part of journalists work and life takes place on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
Day and night, journalists report on difficult topics for example: natural disasters, political violence and human suffering. They have to do this work while also worrying about newsroom layoffs and the future of the industry. It takes a mental and physical toll. Already social media has a big toll on peoples mental state, but adding what journalist go through their mental health is has really decline. Journalist most commonly reported the following negative personal responses: crying and feeling overwhelmed, frustrated and guilty when its comes to trying to keep up with the world of online journalism.
Feeling the pressure
Social media has always been a stir of false information and targeted threats of journalists all over the country. With dealing with all that added pressure you see more and more journalist burning out. Burning out will cause so many problem in ones motivation to do their job right.
Challenges that are involved with journalism is work performance stress, maintaining work-life balance, pressure to have a non-biased social media presence, avoiding comments from trolls, legal worries, pressure to get the scoop and ethical considerations. With all these types of problems it can lead someones mental health to a very low level.
Tips on how journalists can address their own mental health is in this video down below…
Within this story we talked about how the effects of social media has on people who work in journalism. Dealing with all types of challenges with providing real or fake news causes extreme strain in someones life. Taking the time that you need to refresh your mental state is what is needed in this type of career. Journalism is filled with all different type of news, but it’s what tells the real truth thats makes it true journalism.
“As a journalist, the details always tell the story.”- James Mcbride