Social media is a fantastic tool in many regards, it does undoubtedly have its benefits. People now more than ever are able to voice their opinion and news has become more accessible.
It’s also featured prominently in the uprisings through Egypt and Syria, allowing the rest of the world to see an unfiltered view of each situation.
And these are good things, let’s not be mistaken.
What I find alarming and concerning, having witnessed the continuation of the Garry Lyon saga over the past week or so, is how quick members of social media are to slam somebody admitting to mental illness.
MORE:
» Garry Lyon’s mental health, and the need for respect
» Lyon stands down from media duties
Social media has come alive since rumour broke about how former AFL star and Melbourne Demons great Lyon allegedly had a relationship with the ex-wife of close friend Billy Brownless.
Whether the rumour is true or not isn’t for me to say, the truth lies between the two parties and I’ll refuse to believe anything until either or both parties agree to comment on public record.
What has since become a point of public ridicule is that Lyon admitted to battling a mental illness.
Instead of receiving the support of a community which once adored this man, rightly or wrongly, he has received an incredible backlash over the legitimacy of his illness.
This is what I find concerning.
It is an understatement to suggest that mental health is a major problem, not just in Australia but worldwide. In fact, one in five Australians will suffer from mental health issues during their life, a problem which is commonly linked to suicide, something six Australians will die from every day.
It’s something which seemingly has a difficult solution or at least one which we haven’t quite discovered.
Yet every institute from Beyond Blue to the Black Dog Institute, renowned entities who aim to diminish the occurrence of mental health in Australia, suggest part of the solution could be found in offering support to those who admit to having an illness.
What we’ve seen in the past couple of days from some social media users is a polar opposite of this suggestion. To give an example (without putting names to the statement) here are some comments off Facebook regarding the issue:
“It’s a complete cop out.”
“You’re a dog, Garry Lyon.” “Man up Garry.”
“Spoilt, overpaid – makes a poor life decision then plays the mental health card – get real.”
And finally, “Stop hiding behind a Mental Health excuse”.
While there was a great deal of support at the time for Lyon, the minority remains extremely vocal that mental health is being used as an excuse. What’s perhaps even more troubling is that this is not an isolated incident.
Mitch Clark, former Melbourne forward now of the Geelong Cats, had a well-publicised battle with mental health which forced him to retire from the game in 2014, before returning to the AFL with Geelong.
At the time of the retirement, a minority was once again vocal. Some examples off Facebook can be cited here:
“AFL needs to investigate… this is a complete cash grab,” and, “Mitch Clark you’re a flog”.
And comparisons can be seen once again with the recent Lance Franklin case.
People are entitled to their opinion, there’s no doubt there. The problem arises when people with mental illness are portrayed as weak, or trying to pull a scam or a flog.
This does not in any way help erode the stigma of mental illness or make the victims of the illness feel any more comfortable admitting to the illness and seeking help.
And furthermore, the public is not Garry Lyon or Mitch Clark or Lance Franklin. We do not understand what they are going through, we can sympathise but all struggles are unique to the individual and it’s therefore not our place to criticise or comment on whether the illness is real or not.
While it is only a minority who voice these disturbing views, it’s still too many, which in no way helps improve mental health in Australia. It also demonstrates how much work needs to be done by Australia regarding the issue of mental health.
Because whether Garry Lyon did what the media is claiming he did, or whether it is entirely inaccurate, is irrelevant. No one deserves to be ridiculed by keyboard warriors for having a mental illness.
The Roar encourages all readers who may be suffering from mental illness to seek support from organisations such as Lifeline, Beyond Blue or Headspace.
Harold A. Maio
Guest
----This does not in any way help erode the stigma of mental illness or Since I do not subscribe to that prejudice, decline to be an agent to it, I can only hope that you will cease to be.
kevin dustby
Guest
paul, very well said. twitter outrage is the way to write a story these days
KingKongBundy
Guest
Dalspagety why do you always sound so obnoxious in your comments you are one angry man! of course it doesn't have anything to do with money it was just a bit of tongue in cheek in case you didn't notice
james higham
Guest
Quite right, Bob. Also, this is a cop-out to cheat on your mate, then plead mental health. How about someone running an article on poor Billy Brownless. Why is it always the perp who plays the victim?
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Yes, everybody knows that a person's bank balance is a key criteria in the diagnosis of a mental illness. Another astounding insight.
Dalgety Carrington
Roar Guru
Mental health is a "smokescreen"?
Jean
Guest
Social media, as the writer points out, enables many good things, but also many, many risky things. These days anybody can become "an author". This is very scary. There was a time when in order to be "published" you would need to have a PhD or at least be a respected figure in your field. Now anyone can write anything - and all too often many people think "if it's on the Internet, it must be so". The stories and comments surrounding Lyons and Brownless are numerous, who knows which ones are accurate? People who live their lives in the public eye reap many benefits, but also risk their privacy and that of their close family and friends. So much spin is thrown at us every day, it's hard to sift out what is real. I guess my point is - sadly skepticism will creep in, it is inevitable. Just because someone announces they are "battling mental illness" does not necessarily make it so. If it is so, for any of the parties involved, then I sincerely hope the right help will be available and that the situation can be worked through appropriately. In order to do that, social media needs to play no part.
KingKongBundy
Guest
Poor Garry he must be doing it tough sitting in his mansion drinking French champagne.He might feel the need to escape it all with a spin in one of his 10 cars (most likely the Ferrari ) or a cruise around port Philip bay on his 4 million dollar yacht .Or maybe a nice holiday staying in 5 star accommodation on some beautiful island will make him over come his demons I just hope he pulls through this good luck Garry
The Magic Man
Roar Rookie
Is there a particular mental illness that Lyon has been diagnosed with? I'm not sure what type of mental illness makes one grass cut a best mate but it sounds like a bad one. Alternatively, is Garry Lyon's mental health issue directly the consequence of the fall out for his actions? I can understand that many in the public are going to be cynical of any general illness announcement, considering the recency of either related or unrelated personal events. There is also an appearance that many scandalous actions by sportsmen and celebs are swiftly followed by a period of "rehab"... and this is what fuels the growing cynicism. It's a sad reality that intelligent people don't just blindly accept headlines on face value anymore, and I don't think censorship on any debate is healthy either. I believe if it is announced what specific mental illness Garry's been diagnosed with, perhaps there'd be more social understanding of the issues he's is facing. I hope whatever it is, that Garry Lyon comes through stronger, it's obviously a difficult time for him when the nation finds out he's' been railing his best mates wife. Knowing everyone knows that would possibly make anyone feel pretty sick, but I hope he gets through this difficult period whatever it is. I also wish the best for Brownless and his former wife... and finally, I hope what Garry has isn't contagious.
Liam O'Neill
Guest
If any of the Warriors doing the ridiculing, suffer from the black dog themselves,do they have the right to feel insulted.
Nick Croker
Roar Guru
I would suggest its the first place the majority of Australian express their views these days Exactly - that first indignant rage filled response that leaps to our brain is spat out without thinking onto these sites. This does not make it an accurate reflection of general public consensus - it makes it a reflection of the loudest, angriest, most impetuous people but not an accurate reflection of what society truly thinks on the whole. Not to mention that because it is a place where people are immune from the face to face retribution of an actual confrontation they feel like they can express the most heinous and vile expression of their darkest thoughts with no consequence. I'd be surprised if many of the people attacking Adam Goodes would ever double down on their views if they saw him in person but they'll chuck it on Facebook because there's no follow up. As for the article - where does it quote more than Facebook? All it does is make a tenuous link between some wackos spouting rubbish on social media as indicative of the entire countries lack of compassion or understanding about mental illness. To conclude that this article has any insight at all or that social media is a genuine reflection of societal attitudes is ignorant in the extreme Not having a go in any way.... just some food for thought...
Kaks
Roar Guru
"Why Paul is that you feel facebook is not a worthy source of data for, or a feasible place to view the broad range of opinions on a particular issue" Do you use Facebook? People make their comments in order to receive the most 'likes' for self gratification. It is not a suitable place to actually understand the tone of a debate.
Redb
Roar Guru
I've always felt Lyon didn't want to get his hands dirty at MFC even in their darkest hours..
Axle an the Guru
Guest
He may well be doing that Rob,an good on him if he is,my point is don't hide behind a smokescreen like Mental Health.
Paul D
Roar Guru
Facebook is to debates on matters of public interest, what Wikipedia is to a serious research paper. It’s a starting point sure, but don’t hang your hat on views expressed or information gathered. You could point to any issue on social media where people have expressed controversial viewpoints – if you were on Fox Footy’s facebook page during the Adam Goodes saga the top “liked” comment, without exception on almost every article they published, was someone having a crack at Adam Goodes. My principal objection to this article is that the author has sniffed the breeze on facebook and made a declarative statement that “it also demonstrates how much work needs to be done by Australia regarding the issue of mental health.” I believe that to be totally incorrect, and misses the point of why people are being critical of Garry Lyon, which are primarily based around well-founded cynical suspicions about the timing of this announcement.
Dean
Guest
Mental health is a big issue, but I think this case has been a disservice to the cause for two reasons (rightly or wrongly). 1. Many believe he brought it upon himself by drug misuse and subsequent poor behaviour. Many will argue that the mental illness may have led to the drug use and behaviour, but not all users have mental health problems. The assumption that if you use drugs you must have a mental illness is a false assumption, even thought the two are commonly linked. 2. Even if he has a mental illness, his issues have been going on for a long time and it was only when he realised the story was going to break earlier than they'd planned that he and Channel 9 declared himself off limits by claiming a mental illness. The timing of the claim stinks. Presumably his mental health issues were ongoing while his own Channel 9 ambulance chasers were going after others with mental health problem This kind of thing does a disservice to guys who are actually facing mental health issues. Clark, Franklin etc are all separate cases with their own widespread theories. We must be careful not to allow people carte blanche to declare a mental illness to avoid scrutiny or it will be abused as many believe it is here. Unfortunately, like a football injury, the public won't rest without a bit more specific information before they'll believe anything. Until then, they'll fill the media with speculation.
Rob McLean
Guest
Facing the consequences has nothing to do with whether he fronts up to the media to tell "us" about it. Facing up to the consequences is dealing with the family and friends who have been affected by his decisions. How do you know he's not doing that?
Luke
Guest
Why Paul is that you feel facebook is not a worthy source of data for, or a feasible place to view the broad range of opinions on a particular issue. Obviously facebook is no broadsheet newspaper, but I would suggest its the first place the majority of Australian express their views these days. I mean in days gone the ABS would have stood outside a footy ground and asked people the questions and recorded their answers. Facebook does that work for them now. I'm fairly sure the article is more than just quoting facebook.... I found it to be about hanging a man out to dry based on mentl illness. Nowhere does the writer excuse the behaviour, and mental illness can never justify bad behaviour. but if gary lyon is suffering a mental illness, there is a massive danger in telling him to "man up" or "get over it" Not having a go in anyway... just some food for thought...
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
And the quantity directed to Clark is much less than Lyon. No matter what there's always a few f---wits.
Penster
Guest
It highlights that Australia has a long way to go with social media use. Mental health initiatives are heading in the right direction in the work place. If the macho world of footy can have members put their hands up and admit mental health problems, things can't be that bad. Facebook and Twitter are the gutter of the internet.