marketingmag.com.au62 CONTENT PARTNER: UNLTD
MARKETING 2019f you’ve ever metsomeone from Finland you’d
know that we are generally pretty direct and honest.
Telling the truth is one of the core values we are
brought up with. I reckon it’s to do with the weather,
because who’s got time for BS when it’s -20 Celsius
and it hurts just to open your mouth? So 20 years ago, when
I first moved to the UK, it took me a while to understand that
telling the truth wasn’t always acceptable. I remember new
friends being shocked when they asked me how I was and
I actually answered honestly, with details, about whatever
it was that was keeping me up at night. I’ve since learned
the art of the casual response ‘Oh I’m fine thanks, what
about you?’ We all do it, but just because something is the
‘norm’ doesn’t always make it right. We expect honesty and
transparency from the brands we work for and consume, so
why is telling the truth about ourselves so difficult?
It turns out that for over half of us working in the
media, marketing and creative industry, the truth is
uncomfortable. We recently ran ‘Mentally Healthy 2018’- the first ever major study into the mental health of our
industry, in partnership with Everymind and Never Not
Creative. Of the 1800 respondents, 56 percent show signs of
mild to severe depression and 55 percent show signs of mild
to severe anxiety. Each is 20 percent more than the national
average outlined in a 2015 report released by the Australian
Psychological Society. Worryingly, nearly one in fi ve of
us show signs of severe or extremely severe depression,
compared to 12 percent in the national average, and nearly
one in four show signs of severe or extremely severe anxiety,
compared to 11 percent national average.
What’s the cause? Stress is a key contributor, with
57 percent of respondents showing signs of stress and
18 percent showing signs of ‘severe’ or ‘extremely severe’
stress. The pressure we put on ourselves, the pressure from
others and juggling multiple responsibilities are perceived
to be the most stressful. We’re a hard-working bunch, with
almost half of us working more than eight hours per day.
One third of us work on a weekend at least once a month.
Worth considering is the impact of social media.
Studies link social media use with depression and anxiety,
but it’s amplified in our industry where we must stay
up to speed on an ever-changing landscape. According
to ThinkTV’s 2017 ‘AdNation’ study, our industry uses
Instagram nearly 50 percent more and Twitter a third
more than the average consumer. That becomes a problem
when we consider what we share on social, which often
only shows part of the truth – the edited highlights. Like
the sweetly smiling baby who may actually have been
screaming for the last three hours, or the post about a
big promotion that came at a cost of major sacrifi ces in
family life. Could the constant fl ow of perfectly-fi ltered
images and posts about big achievements contribute to the
pressure we put on ourselves?
On the flip side, ‘Mentally Healthy’ found that having
a strong network of social connections is a key indicator of
better mental health. So while social media may contribute
to stress, it’s also a useful tool for connecting us with a
wider community and providing another way to speak up.
It’s all about balance. It’s good to see social media platforms
exploring solutions to support users, such as Twitter’sNina Nyman is
CMO at UnLtdHow are you, really?
Why is it so hard for us to answer the question
‘how are you?’ truthfully. Nina Nyman ponders
the mental health issues of the media, marketing
and creative industry.
For over half of us working
in the media, marketing and
creative industry, the truth
is uncomfortable.