#labelling

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https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/16/2/e107379

Abstract

Background Social media is a significant source of information for post-secondary students, who are usually at the age at which many common mental disorders first express themselves. Social media can have a role in the way post-secondary students identify and act on mental health issues.

Objectives Explore how the use of social media influences post-secondary students’ adoption of mental health labels.

Eligibility criteria We included empirical studies on mental health labelling in the context of social media use among post-secondary students published in English between January 1995 and April 2025.

Sources of evidence The review includes references from five databases: Scopus, PubMed, Ovid MEDLINE (to access APA PsycINFO), Web of Science and ProQuest Global Dissertations and Theses. Based on the included studies from the initial search, we built a complementary search strategy using Research Rabbit artificial intelligence.

Charting methods We present a table listing characteristics of the studies and brief summaries of their findings. A narrative synthesis compiled the information from each study to answer the research questions.

Results The search identified 7551 references and 1099 additional records from Research Rabbit. 11 studies published since 2011 met the inclusion criteria with qualitative, mixed methods and quantitative designs, without major quality concerns. Approaches to measuring social media exposure varied, including platform reports of user activity and self-reported indicators. Individuals adopted labels themselves or received labels from peers or researchers. Most research focused on self-presentation and symptom disclosure rather than labelling itself. The accuracy of self-diagnosis was higher for common disorders and lower for complex conditions such as mania or panic disorders. Labelling varied across social media platforms. Online interaction revealed issues that students were reluctant to share face-to-face. Label use appeared to influence help-seeking and peer support, with effects shaped by social stigma.

People are so obsessed with labels. They need words and definitions to define themselves, to make them feel secure in who they are by knowing that their experience is not unheard of.

Beyond this, society operates on labelling everyone within. Race, gender, sex, age, ethnicity, class ... All to place roles and expectations on who you should be based on these things—what job you should have, how you should behave, whether you're worth paying attention to, if you are worthy of respect, etc.

I am technically "straight", due to me being male and having an interest in women romantically, but I barely even engage in romance. Am I aromantic? I've asked myself those things many times before, and I don't have an answer. I've never experienced any "real" crushes, and I can't particularly distinguish whether how I feel is platonic or romantic, and then it goes right back into feeling nothing at all. I have interest in being in a romantic relationship, but it is difficult for me to engage in that romance emotionally in real life. I question whether or not I even love anyone.

People come up with labels to define hyper specific experiences when they find nothing else that explains it for them. They need to be categorized. They need to feel like they have a place, or else they feel like they're going crazy.

I find that schizoids often don't bother with labels. Many of them don't refer to themselves as schizoid, despite engaging with the so-called community. (It's funny, in a way, a "community" of schizoids, a little oxymoron). They might not have strong feelings about their personal identity like gender or sexuality.

I can sort of understand the average person's need for a label, but that understanding does not go beyond the surface level. I don't understand the hyper specific descriptors to describe the specific experiences that might not necessitate those terms. It's okay to use common language. It's okay to recognize what you're experiencing isn't normal.