We all know the saying – “Bad news travels fast.” This was the case way before the internet & SM. The contrast of the speed of good news vs bad news & how it travels has always been stark.
However, what gave me a lot of hope these last few wks, was maybe not how fast, but how FAR & WIDE good news in the MH space has traveled on – of all things – SM.
As a bkgrnd, in this space, we know we’re fighting an uphill battle. It’s much easier for a msg abt the gory details of a celeb suicide to go viral, than it is for positive change to spread.
But enter the first story shared here➡️. Andrew Toles from the Dodgers (who hasn’t played since 2018), “re-signed” by the franchise so that he can get MH services for the schizophrenia symptoms he’s fighting/managing. People over profits. This is great news. And as I’ve shared w many of you who’ve sent it to me in DMs, this is by FAR the most shared story of positive MH news I’ve seen in 5 yrs. It’s not bc the papers keep publishing the story. It’s bc YOU keep sharing it. It shows collectively – WE do have power, despite the alg0s, to get stories wide. Keep sharing!
Few more examples of positivity going far & wide➡️: First, Dove’s “Cost of Beauty” campaign, using real world folks to talk abt the effects of SM on our teens & young adults – pushing for change thru the “KOSA” Bill (explained on slides) that would provide restrictions on these SM companies as to what they can feed our kids. Huge. Getting shared far & wide.
2 more: 10th anniversary of the Boston Marathon tragedy (something that impacted all our MH) 2 Red Sox ran in it to celebrate “Boston Strong” after a decade. Very uplifting. And then an event we had w the MIAA Student Athlete Leaders, shared by many of their group members w their schools. Good MH news CAN be shared far & wide.
Last slide, the opposite of this post’s theme. What is Hollywood & the movie Mario Bros doing? A character glorifying death: “The only hope, the sweet relief of death.” Let’s make parents aware & avoid this movie. Lines like this – masked by a cute character w a child’s voice – are no joke.