Toyosi Olola is a health communication researcher, author, and data analyst who is committed to providing positive solutions to mental health issues among youths. In this interview with Segun Adebayo, she shared insight into her journey and the challenges of tackling social media menace.
You are one woman who has her hands in different pies. You are a tech founder, and health communication researcher among others. How did your background shape your life and what you do today?
Without any doubt, my growing up was a beautiful experience that shaped my life and the career path I chose. I am a health communication researcher, data analyst, 2x TED organizer, Tech Founder, Community Organizer, and the Founder of Webstant.co.
I grew up very loved and was quite tomboyish because I was an extremely inquisitive child who would question everything. When they got tired of finding answers to my never-ending questions, my father resorted to providing daily newspapers over a period of ten years. I can only imagine the amount of money he invested. But then it greatly yielded great results in my intellectual expansion and knowledge acquisition
How has life as a Nigerian studying in America been for you?
It has been a bitter-sweet experience for me. When I arrived in the US, it was very hard for me to find resources and have the Western student life experience as my university held the graduate classes in the Fort Worth campus far away from the main campus at Stephenville, Texas. Though I was around a lot of Nigerians and they did support me but I suffered professionally and career wise as majority of the people around me were in STEM-related courses, I was always the odd one studying communications. Resourceful information can make a huge difference. Now, we have created a community for Nigerian communication professionals in the diaspora, where we share information and build connections that can help us thrive in our career in America.
What’s inspired your heart to get on this journey and how challenging has it been?
The world is facing a mental health crisis. As a health communication researcher, I examine the connections between social media and mental health, with an emphasis on young people, and design interventions and transformative solutions to this societal challenge. You see, social media is not the enemy. Rather it is how the youths and adolescents use social media, overly dependent on it at the detriment of other aspects of their lives that is problematic. It has been difficult to get through to the stakeholders who have authority over the youth. Societal causes are never successful in isolation but a collaborative effort from all and sundry. For instance, it is hard to produce materials for mental health self help. As a certified mental health first aider, I have written a free ebook and this will metamorphose into a website that is accessible for the youth. Aside this, I am building a curriculum that can be used in our educational institutions (high school) as there is currently no materials to address the impact of social media overuse on the mental health wellbeing of students.
What role are your playing in helping people tackle mental health issues and social media addiction?
I am proposing, as a health communication researcher, mechanisms for the management of the debilitating effects of social media abuse on mental health crises, and suicide risk. I have been on this journey for more than six years. In 2017, when I moved to the USA to pursue a second Masters in Communication Studies at Tarleton State University, Fort Worth Texas, (I devoted time to work at the Texas Social Media Research Institute where I became a media scholar. I realised that complaining about social media addiction among youth is really counter productive. Currently, I am working on my Doctorate degree at the University of North Dakota, USA as part of my commitment to advancing my expertise for this work.
How does social media abuse impact mental health, and what specific mental health disorders can be exacerbated by excessive use?
Social media platforms drive surges of dopamine to the brain to keep consumers coming back over and over again. The shares, likes, and comments on these platforms trigger the brain’s reward center, resulting in a high similar to the one people feel when gambling or using drugs. The overuse of social media can actually program a young person brain to constantly seek out immediate gratification, leading to obsessive, compulsive and addictive behaviors. This is what can make mental health disorders such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, and body dysmorphia worse which could lead to suicide.
What strategies do you propose to mitigate the negative effects of social media on mental health?
First, we must stop demonising social media. The youths are more curious to try and overuse something when it is presented negatively due to the high level of curiosity and their propensity to be defiant. A positive solution I employed is to give out free books and a website on self-help and mental wellness which I believe will go a long way in tackling the problem. Also I designed a school curriculum on safe social media use and youth mental health to provide educators with easy-to-use resources to combat social media addiction and improve wellness among students.
Does the government/ authorities have a role to play on the matter and what can be done to address it knowing that you can only try but young people may not change?
I advocate for policy changes by government and authorities to address privacy breach by social media companies targeting youths. Such policy changes are necessary with the goal of minimising compulsive buying behaviour and hoarding induced by long exposure to social media. I believe strongly that ideas do not come out fully formed but the beauty of great achiever is that they start and continue to expand on the journey. One step at a time is all we need to change the world.
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