The mental health of most American's isn't looking too good according to this website from USAToday http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2009-03-11-stress-poll_N.htm
I read the comments on Michelle's post about reality TV, specifically the point Andrew made about people wanting to escape their reality and it started to really drive home for me as I read this article. The general public is seeing a definite decline in happiness and emotional well-being. Obviously, it is directly correlated with the current economic crisis.
I began to think about all of these factors and the role the media plays in a time like this. Does the media reinforce the problems we are all facing...making the situation seem more daunting and inescapable than it actually is...or does the media give us an escape? like reality TV, movies and shows?
Perhaps it is a bit of both...
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I completely agree that the media gives us an escape. How many times have you been in a bad mood and then watch a happy movie and your entire mood has changed? Media gives us a chance to forget momentarily about our own lives and to be immersed in the lives of someone else. This could definitely cause a problem for people's emotional health. If they are using the media to solve their problems they aren't really helping themselves and getting to the root of their actual issues
ReplyDeleteNot only can this emotional struggle and sense of depression in Americans be linked to the economic downturn, but I also think it has a direct correlation to the stressful lifestyle American's impose on themselves. We are constantly working, constantly on the go. Compare American working standards with that of say, France or Spain. Both of those countries average far more vacation days and time off, with mandatory lunch breaks and rest for employees. Americans find themselves justifying the purchase of phones with email and internet because when they leave work, they cannot leave work really. Even on vacation, you find individuals seeking out internet cafes, or better yet, bringing their lap tops to do work beach/poolside. American's are overworked in an attempt to acheive that "American Dream". Wasn't the American Dream supposed to make us happier? The desire to constantly keep up with rising social standards of comfortable living are slowly but surely killing many Americans. Emotional health is definitely the first aspect of an individuals life to suffer.
ReplyDeleteWell, to address Maxie's question regarding if the media helps or heals us in times of stressful situations, like a failed economy, I believe that it depends on the type of media. When I have had a hard day and I'm too exhausted to do anything else besides be a couch potato, I find an escape in watching television shows like Friday Night Lights or Gossip Girl. They take my mind off of my worries about school, friends, whatever. I believe that the right type of media has the ability to take people's minds of their life stresses. However, constrastingly, other types of media can only add to people's stress levels. The news, for example, with ever-present and daunting stories of bankrupcy, war and failure, can serve to stress Americans out more than they need to be. They can remind us how bad our situation really is, when all we want to do is forget about it. Media is so incredibly powerful and has the ability to lift or weigh down a person.
ReplyDeleteJust a comment on "Readthisitsgood's" comment. The reason European workers have more vacation time, rest breaks, etc. as well as universal health care and benefits is because they have strong unions. Marx was right; there is always a tension between the owners and the workers. And if the workers want a better quality of life, there power to get it lies in organizing with other workers to put pressure on management to share the resources downward. So while I agree that there may be cultural reasons for us working as hard as we do, it's also because we've had 30 years or more of attacks on unions and the undercutting of attempts of workers to organize.
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