Arouba Kabir, Mental & Emotional Health Therapist, recently joined for an insightful conversation as part of NewsX Influencer A-List. In an exclusive conversation with NewsX, Arouba spoke about her journey of using Instagram to spread the message of having a good mental health, having a young clientele and whether social media is driving people to feel lonely.
Speaking about using Instagram to spread the message of mental health and her journey, Arouba said, “I have never been a very social media person. I had an Instagram and Facebook account but I was never active. Every time we would ask a client, ‘How did you find us?’, because I have been working as a counselllor for last 8 years, they would say ‘Instagram’. I would question them, ‘Are you sure because I don’t put anything on Instagram.?’ I then realised that it was the age group between 18-34, who were more interested going to a doctor, rather talking to their parents because there is a stigma. Finding somebody online, connecting with them and getting the consultation, where there is privacy, confidentiality is different. That’s how it clicked. I was like I should be going there. In my personal life, I am not somebody who is very social. I had to do certain modifications in my behaviour, because content on social media has to be attractive to look at. It doesn’t matter how strong a message is. I had to do certain modifications, learn some things and for last 2 years, it has really been successful. People have been sending me messages about how it really helps them.”
When asked does having a young clientele, who reach out to her on social media, also point out the fact that being on social media can be difficult, considering the hate and criticism that comes with it, she responded, “If I have to break it down, first of all, the people who use social media as an audience. They are the people who feel lonely in their life, have a lot of body issues, have lot of insecurities, have relationships that are not working. They want to feel good and they get stuck on social media. They are scrolling and comparing themselves. If they see someone can help me, if that bell rings, they connect with you. Now, the other side, who are very active like influencers, I have a number of influencers as clients because the hate comments, the trolls, the kind of attention it attracts- sometimes they are not able to take it. A lot of people go off the Internet for a long time because it gets too much. It is mostly about comparison, ‘Am I less than anyone else?’, ‘Am I not good enough?’, or that ‘I don’t have a real social circle’ and that depends on social media a lot. It is very unfortunate to see this age group because it is like when I was 18, I was surrounded by people. I did not know a lot about social media. Now, if you see, they have friends on social media but in real life, they don’t have anybody they can count on. It is very unfortunate but it is giving them company.”
Sharing her thoughts on whether reel life making people lonelier and driving people to develop mental health issues, Arouba expressed, “Definitely, I have observed it but i have seen it as an aggravating factor. When you get into someone’s life, who has been feeling all of these things, social media is aggravating it. It is coming from their childhood and their past. I always tell people that you are a project of your past. Your past shapes you. I see that they haven’t had connections. They never understood that it was anxiety. They haven’t talked to their parents about it. They have not felt understood, supported and encouraged. They then go towards social media, which aggravates these emotions. Somebody who is in their element, understand themselves, they would not spend so much time on social media. They would have amazing healthy boundaries.”
Check out the entire interview on NewsX YouTube:
