WASHINGTON —
At a time when growing numbers of young Americans are diagnosed with mental health conditions, media are looking at ways to cover the issue more responsibly.
Data shows a rise in young adults being diagnosed with conditions such as depression or anxiety. But media reports of public incidents involving mental health sometimes use damaging language, experts say.
Terms such as “unhinged” or “erratic” — language used to describe a homeless man killed on the New York subway last year — are held up as poor examples of coverage.
Reporters on the health beat and experts who specialize in mental health say that such terms are damaging for those who have a medical condition and that they can be misleading.
“Media plays an important role in shaping public perception of many things, including mental illness,” said Christine Herman, a freelancer journalist.
Coverage can make it appear as if the illness is a moral failing or lack of character, Herman told VOA.
“Sometimes mental health issues are criminalized in our society,” she said, citing how some news outlets still use terms such as “commit suicide” when reporting on someone who has taken their own life.
The term dates to when suicide was still criminalized in the United States.
“The language we use and the way we describe and talk about mental health conditions can really contribute and shape perception,” Herman said.
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Experts Look at How Trauma Shapes Journalists
