By Brianna McMillan
For Black men, speaking about poor mental health is seen as a sign of weakness, but celebrity and mass media discussions chip away at this harmful narrative.
In this exploratory study, health communication researcher Diane Francis examined 1,482 tweets with the hashtag “#YouGoodMan” that arose as a result of Kid Cudi’s 2016 announcement on his depression diagnosis, which included having suicidal thoughts, and receiving treatment. #YouGoodMan was created to check in on Black men and engage them in discussions about their mental health. This study asks the question, “What were Black men saying about their mental health in these conversations and what factors influenced them to speak up?” In these Twitter conversations, three main themes that the study emerged:
- Disclosure of mental health – Discussion of mental health conditions, diagnosis, medication, symptoms, and treatment.
- Supplying support online and offline –
- Emotional – Users showed large amounts of compassion and support toward Black men expressing their emotions and being vulnerable.
- Network – Discussion of how these men are not alone, community is accessible on Twitter. Users stressed how important it is to convey support to Black men seeking help and to fight to end the stigma surrounding this.
- Informational -Users provided information about mental health resources such as websites, crisis lines, text services, apps, social media platforms, therapy services, etc.
- Acknowledgement of cultural and societal impact
- Black men are raised to not express emotional vulnerability, vulnerability is seen as weakness.
- Many religious Black families believe prayer is all that is necessary, professional help is looked down upon.
- Rap and hip-hop artists are now more commonly talking about mental health issues in their music and are positively impacting Black men’s mental health.
Pulling from theories that explain how substantial media coverage and celebrity influence on a topic causes discussions in online communities that influence attitudes towards the topic, Francis’ findings further support this evidence. Many celebrities have openly spoken about their mental health problems, but what differs with Kid Cudi’s disclosure is the extreme media coverage and hashtag that followed, which opened the conversation for Black men to speak on their mental health struggles in a safe, “judgment-free” space.
Mass media coverage, combined with celebrity coverage on the topic of mental health, influences conversations online and can provide beneficial tools for seeking help. Young African Americans extensively use Twitter, so using culturally specific hashtags, such as #YouGoodMan, with the combination of ethnic celebrity influence is an effective way to engage young Black men in conversations about their mental health. Hip hop and rap have a large impact on the community of young African American men. This information indicates that rap could be a culturally effective way to start conversations about mental health in the Black community. By adding more content surrounding mental health into lyrics, rap artists can play a large role in starting individual and community wide conversations, which can help to change societal beliefs and stigmas surrounding Black men and mental health.
Francis, D. B. (2021). “Twitter is Really Therapeutic at Times”: Examination of Black Men’s Twitter Conversations Following Hip-Hop Artist Kid Cudi’s Depression Disclosure. Health Communication, 36(4), 448–456.