The Guardian
Apr 13, 2024 - 15 min
Can you accurately diagnose a stranger online? Over the past decade, billions of us have virtually bumped into people we would have never met in other circumstances. This, combined with increased mental health awareness, means that social media has transformed into a WebMD for mental health. Rebecca Jennings explores the trend of self-pathologisation, categorising strangers into boxes and the unintended consequences of treating mental illness like a subculture.