People are increasingly broadcasting symptoms of mental illness on social media. We should listen
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Peter's Facebook friends knew something was wrong months before he had a manic episode. He had been posting about expensive shopping trips and name-dropping celebrities he claimed to have partied with—seemingly out of character for the 26-year-old former dental student from Atlanta. When Peter (not his real name) ran away from home in April 2013, he unleashed a flurry of paranoid, all-caps status updates saying his family was out to get him. Meanwhile his sisters left messages on his Facebook wall begging him to come home.
What might have been a family affair a decade ago instead played out in front of hundreds of eyes, as friends and acquaintances watched the saga unfold on their news feeds. Some people sent him private messages. Others posted on his wall. Many commenters expressed support and concern, but a few were mocking and unhelpful. One person wrote “lol.” Most people, however, only watched.
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