Social media stress driving depression among rural women

Mental health surveys in the rural belt of Uttar Pradesh are challenging the common belief that village life is stress-free compared to cities.

- Biswajeet Banerjee

A series of mega mental health camps held at eight Community Health Centres (CHCs) in Kanpur district have revealed a steep rise in depression and anxiety among women between the ages of 20 and 40.

Alarmingly, many of these patients admitted having recurrent suicidal thoughts linked to excessive use of social media. Doctors and social workers at the camps identified a shifting social landscape where the glamour portrayed in short reels on mobile screens is pushing rural women into patterns of self-doubt, sleeplessness, and family discord.