The Sunday Mail
Liliosa Tatenda Chiurawa
University of Zimbabwe
CASES of suicide are on the rise among young people in Zimbabwe, and there is a need to quickly unpack the root cause.
Depression has been cited as the chief culprit.
The National Movement of Catholic Students (NMCS) Zimbabwe has witnessed an increase in suicide cases among its members in various tertiary institutions and has since embarked on a #CheckOnYourFriend campaign on social media.
The organisation has started a Facebook page named Depression Movement. A media consultant in Zimbabwe was recently quoted attributing some of the suicide cases to stress and depression triggered by social media, adding that since January 2019, there had been 129 cases of suicide amongst students in Zimbabwe.
In this digital era, we at times have thousands of friends on Facebook and at times 3 000 people like our posts, another thousand follow us on Instagram and Twitter. Our pictures, memes and posts get resent, re-tweeted and liked many times than we can count, but in reality, we have no one to stand with us.
We need physical relationships, actual meaningful relationships with people we can relate to. Trying to keep up with the image we put out there on social media puts pressure on us, especially when we know we cannot keep it up anymore.
We place ourselves in situations and positions where we would rather ignore certain people who care for us in order to “level up” to social media standards.
“Everyone else is doing it” has become a popular statement among young people. It is putting us in a position to choose without making an actual decision because we want to be seen and remain in the game.
There is a story of a model who committed suicide after posting some great pictures on Instagram and receiving a million likes. A visit to seek answers from her apartment revealed that all was not well. She had not been eating properly for some time and everything was a mess, except her social media accounts.
No one was actually there for her in person and no one knew what was really going on. After social media, she had no one. Depression is triggered when young people come to terms with the fact that outside the digital world, they have no one to talk to.
At this juncture, it is important to highlight ways to avoid depression which is triggered by social media.
Tips to avoid depression
Am I saying quit social media? Not at all. But be mindful what you use it for and how you use it.
We spend more money and time on social media than we do in our own personal relationships.
Do not let social media consume you alive. I am saying do not cut ties with actual people because you now have a thousand followers. You need these people, you need comfort from them and an actual realistic conversation.
Do not let social media trends get the better of you because you can never keep up with all of them. Trying all the injections and pills for a “good” body will leave you not only broke but broken and in hospital. Be careful.
Liliosa Tatenda Chiurawa is a level four Forensic Science student at the University of Zimbabwe and an aspiring leadership coach. She has interest in raising awareness on issues that affect society. She can be contacted on [email protected]
