Media's cruel measuring stick.

College Herald

T HE hypnotic ticking of the clock gradually distorted into an agitating ring. I heard exasperated groans followed by sighs of relief. My mind and body felt at ease, feeling the tension slipping off my shoulders. Unfortunately, this was not the case for my best friend, who sat plastered in her seat in bewilderment. As the last people began to evacuate the class in a rush, she began to hyperventilate. ``I failed that, Morgan! ``And I'm going to fail the next one, and then I won't get into university and then I'm going to end up working as a garbage collector.'' After a pause and sudden realisation of the stupidity of her comments, she exclaimed in pure frustration, ``I AM SO DEPRESSED!'' Now, tell me, how many times have you heard that phrase in the past week? People these days have been so influenced by the media about mental illness and depression that it has become a common term used in society. But how much of a part have the media played in this? Are the media helping to stop discrimination of the mentally ill? Or are they simply fuelling the fire? We see ads on television every day informing us about the diseases that have plagued one in five New Zealanders. Bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, agoraphobia _ the list is endless. But in fact the media are adding salt to the wound. The information they present is filtered the way they want you too see it. They have generated an image of what is good, what is bad and what is ugly. Youth are manipulated by the glitz and glam of celebrities. They are encouraged to look just like them, to act just like them and, in turn, be just like them. When they do not meet these absurd expectations of attitude, body shape and overall appearance, they are frustrated and believe they are not good enough. At such a vulnerable age, when girls are blossoming into women and boys are entering the milestone ages of manhood, they are crushed and focus on their faults. A piece of equipment that is no longer worthy of use. Our success and achievements are measured using the media as a ruler _ not only beauty, but power also. Themes of music videos promote women objectifying themselves at very young ages. It is no surprise that New Zealand has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the world. All of this can lead to suicide. Drugs, drinking and violence all fall into the same sort of whirlpool and contribute to mental illness. Adults have the slight advantage of being able to sieve some of this information. Although they are influenced as well, by the news and various other opinionated programmes, they still have the experience to know what is realistic and what isn't. Their life experience is valuable and comes as a benefit when living in the technologically reliant world today. The media affect our whole society today. They influence the way we view depression and a strong case can be made that they perpetrate it also. The media are a pair of tinted glasses for us to look through _ the more we try to block the effects the more they find us by other means. Posters, radio, internet, television _ all under your nose and waiting to manipulate. Depression and mental illness is only a fragment of the harm they have on society. Astha Kantroo, Year 10, Botany Downs Secondary College

Mixed media messages warn us of the prevalence of mental illness while also setting us up to fail in life, writes Astha Kantroo