More to Life
More to Life is a campaign that aims to try and reduce the male suicide rate in the United Kingdom. The demographic in focus is the male gender. The focus will be mainly those aged from 15 years. The essay will explain why the demographic has high suicide rates attributed to it. Then using that, we can craft a campaign that addresses the issue and seeks to reduce the suicide rates.
Demographic Analysis
The target audience of More to Life is the male demographic at large in the United Kingdom. In general, males are found to be at a higher risk of committing suicide. In the UK, the suicide rates among men are three times higher than that of women. The suicide rate among men in 2019 was 16.4 people per 100, 000, on the other hand, the suicide rate among women was 4.9 deaths per 100, 000 (Manders & Kaur 2020). The high male suicide rate is tragic; the report goes on to indicate that suicide is the highest cause of death amongst males under the age of 45. The report shows that the male to female suicide rate ratio had risen between 2017 and 2018. The male and female suicide rate ratio was 3.18, and in 2018 and 3.06 in 2017 (Gayle 2019; Manders 2018). The suicides were also documented to have risen by 10.9 % in 2018 (Scowcroft 2017, p. 21). The numbers have been consistent since the mid-1990s. Creating a media campaign on the awareness of mental health and where to seek help for a loved one or oneself would be instrumental in helping to create awareness.
There is a consistent rise in lower age group suicide tendencies. There are rising concerns due to the high rate of suicide among adolescent males in England and Wales. It is unclear to people whether this can be attributed to the rise in population in the prior years (Bould et al. 2019, p. 116) They go on to mention that this is however not the case as by using the proportion metric suicide rates are still tremendously high. To investigate this, they cite that the mortality rates (deaths per 100,000) of suicide have continuously been increasing by 7.9 % in adolescents in the UK; further, the suicide rates are significantly higher in male adolescents than in female adolescents. It would, therefore, be beneficial to address the suicide rates among males as it would enable the suicide statistic to reduce. Helping reduce the male suicide rate would go a long way in reducing the general suicide rate.
Men are generally less likely to seek medical help when they encounter depression. Depression is a significant source of suicides among people. About 50-80% of the people who commit suicide have had notable instances of depression (Thomas 2018, p. 37). Depression is, however, more prevalent among women than it is among men (Lincoln 2019). It is, therefore, intriguing to find that the suicide rates among men are higher. This can be attributed to the fact that men are described to be reticent (Seidler 2016, p. 106). This would also explain why men are reluctant to seek professional advice or seek help when they undergo such severe cases of depression or anxiety. It is, therefore, apparently hard to diagnose men with depression; most men can, thus, sneak under the radar and end up hurting themselves. There are various reasons attributed to why men are found to be unwilling to seek therapy. One of the main reasons is that men are more reticent can be attributed to hegemonic masculinity (Donaldson 1993, p. 654), men have a social role in which they are required to ‘man up’ and not talk about their feelings. Such societal pressures can be accredited to men being raised to be more individualistic (Wetherell & Edley 1999, p. 336). One of the chief focus of our public campaign is to show that it is ok to seek professional help. Seeking professional advice should also be celebrated as a deed of strength. The More to Life campaign will be adamant that a message will be sent in which when one seeks help when he is undergoing an existential mental crisis, there will be an aura of accomplishment.
The other main factors (events) that lead to higher suicide rates among men are relationship breakdown, job losses, and the feeling of failure mostly brought about by comparing oneself to others (De Choudhury et al. 2013, p. 50). The factors stated above can be unpredictable and, in most cases, hard to deal with, especially for a depressive male. The financial crisis of 2008 was thought to bring depression to a high number of people in families or individuals affected (Beck & Alford 2009, p. 49). This was primarily due to loss of income as countless people lost their employment status. There are various campaign ways and channels that can be used to address suicide rates in the United Kingdom. Social media platforms are thought to be ways in which people can get easily depressed mainly because people compare their success to others and see themselves as failures. Secondly, people can come across bad news of impending doom, such as global warming, that can leave them in a state of worry (De Choudhury et al., 2013, p. 51). Social media can, therefore, be used as an advocate for our campaign to bring positive messages to the online male demographic. It is estimated that in the UK, more than two-thirds of the country’s population is on social media, with the male gender having a higher proportion at 58% (Blank & Lutz, 2017, p. 743). It would, therefore, be beneficial to create a social media campaign that could help reach a good number of people and help save lives.
Fundamental Campaign Messages
Having great messages for our campaign is a crucial element when planning and organizing for More to Life. Proper message delivery is the core element of the campaign. The campaign will be mostly looking to send messages towards males.
- Redefine Masculinity
There have been some conventional ways that were described as the only ways to be a proper man. Cornell & Messerschmidt (2005) defined this as hegemonic masculinity. They go on to say that in the quantitative context, hegemonic masculinity was not thought to be usual; only a handful of people might implement this. But, undoubtedly, it was socially determined. It exemplified the presently most admired manner of becoming a man, it mandated all the other males to frame themselves concerning it, and it legitimized the global subjugation of female to male ideologically (p. 832). This, however, results in some obvious problems, not every man would be able to get to the top echelons of the society for them to feel adequately masculine. The context of hegemonic masculinity is also outright flawed. Smith (1999) notes that men feel that they cannot go and see anyone being ‘wimpy,’ and they have to ‘man up’ and get on with life a situation that breeds more depression (p. 274). About half of the suicides in the UK are brought about by depression (Hennefield et al. 2019). Males in the past were also not diagnosed with depression and anxiety because they were thought that depression and anxiety were women’s problems.
In our campaign, one of the slogans would be that “It is ok to want a shoulder to lean on.” This will be directed to men wanting to be helped through tough personal times. They will also be notified that they will not be perceived as weak. Men will also be directly and indirectly encouraged to visit or seek professional help. This will be achieved by making helpline call numbers available to most of the population. Through pamphlets and social media, a large number of people will have helpline numbers with them.
- Propose Other Achievements as Success
This would be done to help find ways to make members of the male population feel more accomplished. Waller (2009) notes that men tend to feel more accomplished when they are working, and they have a functional family (p. 168), he also notes that most men who have children are more able to overcome particular challenges (p.171). Showing men who might be depressive that they may have accomplished more than they can easily let go will go a long way in helping prevent suicidal propensities. Economic success should not be the only measure of success. Instilling ethical family values should also be a measure of success for parents (Halborow, 2019, p43).
In our campaign, going through with therapy will also be encouraged as a success. The society will be encouraged to change its perception of people suffering from depression who might need medical help as successful people. Creating new acceptable viewpoints on what constitutes success that people who may be more prone to suicide would help in creating a sense of accomplishment for the people that might be feeling like committing suicide.
Key points to avoid during the campaign
The campaign will, at all costs, refrain from all of the following practices. Such tactics are proven ways in which to dent the campaign.
- Implying that Victims of Suicide are Weak
The campaign is not done in a way that will be set out to provide advice to the people who might be looking to commit suicide. Providing advice is not an advisable way to help a suicidal victim (Dey & Jorm, 2016, p. 499). The victim should not, at that moment, be shown that there might have been other options they will not have considered. Instead, this is a moment to show that you empathize with the person (Wang et al., 2018, p. 706). This could be done by showing them they are not alone. The primary purpose of the campaign is not to show that their decisions are wrong. The main objective is to show that we understand what they might be going through.
Most of the victims who commit suicide just need to see that people understand what they are going through. Creating a notion of understanding helps the victim know that he might not be entirely alone in whatever predicament he is going through. Showing empathy instead of contempt for people who might commit suicide could go a long way in helping them.
- Avoid Showing them that there are Others in Far Worse Plight.
Despite the popular belief showing someone who is in a bad situation someone else in a worse situation would help in raising the mood of the individual in a wrong position, this is not always the case. When it comes to depressed people, showing them that there are others in a worse state does not help them lift their mood.
Instead, listening to them and helping them by showing them that people care is the best way of dealing with people who might be suicidal. Empathy and understanding is a great way to help those going through such circumstances. Offering them a place where they can get professional help is then the best second step.
Campaign materials
- Posters
Posters are a great way to disseminate information to the public. One of the best reasons a poster is efficient is because a lot can see one poster of people, this is largely beneficial in that the message can reach a lot of people without the budget being used in the campaign blowing through the roof (Berry & Houston, 1995, p. 21). In Britain, the majority of people live in highly concentrated urban areas (Yin et al., 2017, p. 1301). Posters put up in such areas can easily reach a wide number of people. Posters are also relatively easy to produce. One would only need access to a large graphics printer, which is in no way hard to rent in any metropolitan area around Britain.
The posters are also easier to visualize. Drawing or coming up with a graphical message on a poster does not require a lot of work.
The message that will be included in the poster will be a pictorial representation of mental illness. This is because, in most of the suicide cases that happen, there is an element of mental illness that happens to have plagued the victim. In one of the poster’s art, there will be an animated graphical representation. The graphic will comprise of a large silhouette of a strong, healthy man. Inside the frame will be a man cowered up. The frame will have a third man stretching his hand towards the man on the inside cowered up, saying, “I can help you. I’ll listen.” On top of the poster will be a suicide hotline in which people who might want to commit suicide can call and get professional help.
The posters will be disseminated in town centres, major city centres, near sports facilities, and around high school and college schools. Most of the people with depression also tend to drink regularly, finding a way to include the posters into bars with the authorization of the bar owners would go a long way in helping get received by the targeted audience.
- Using social media campaigns
This will be a coordinated effort to assist the people suffering from depression to speak out. This should be one of the most effective ways to campaign. In Britain, there are about 45 million social media users in 2020 (Johnson & Mar 2020). That would make about 66 % of the United Kingdom’s entire population. Social media campaigns can be one of the most effective ways to help people who might be suicidal not to commit suicide. Social media sites popular in the United Kingdom, by April 2020 are Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, respectively (StatCounter Global Stats 2020). The sites are popularly used for information sharing. They can also be good platforms for social connections. They can also be able to provide a platform for people who may need to communicate and share a large message.
One of the main ways we will use social media is to create a page or a Facebook group for people who may be suffering from depression. The group may contain a daily ‘3 step task’ program from a professional psychologist that will help people dealing with depression. The group will also provide a chance for members who may want to have a one on one chat with a professional. The professional may assist in how they can get help in their state of depression. The page or group will also have helplines pinned to it. The name of the group will be “One Day at a Time.”
The campaign will aim to start a twitter hashtag in which it will hopefully be used to show that there is ‘more to life’ and give people a chance to show support. The twitter hashtag will be “NotTodayDeath.” It would be great if Twitter hashtag could gain momentum and gain popularity. Popular social media influencers will be offered a chance to provide their support. The message will be a message of defiance and will possibly help the people when they see such a message to be motivated.
- Printing Pamphlets
Pamphlets are a great tool for message delivery; pamphlets can help in information distribution. When using pamphlets, one can target certain areas in which one would think that there are possible groups that might need support. There is a hoard of advantages when using pamphlets compared to all other media. Pamphlets are portable and can be carried around. Unlike posters, people who may want to use the message on the pamphlets on a later date or people who may want to share the message with a friend will all be better off carrying a pamphlet. Pamphlets can be used to carry a lot of information too. This could be beneficial in helping to get more detailed messages across.
Our campaign will create pamphlets that will be used to target possible areas where people who might suicidal or depressed might venture to. Such areas will include a library where there is a student population. Employment and welfare offices, around the camping areas of homeless people, are also areas of interest. This will help in ensuring that the areas of interest all have pamphlets that anyone wanting to use them can take.
The pamphlets will contain graphical pictures that will portray a message of brotherhood and courage. It will portray messages of moral support to the people who will be reading the pamphlets. They will also contain a form in which it will contain a space for contact details, name, and also a blank space whether one can write additional messages. The booklet will be so that the form can be mailed to centres where meetings happen. The person can then be notified when there are meetings that he and other people going through tough times can meet up.
Conclusion
To try and keep the suicide rates low in the United Kingdom, one of the best ways to approach this by catering to the primary demographic. As statistics have proven, men in the United Kingdom are three times more likely than women to commit suicide. There are different strategies we would use to help people that might potentially commit suicide to stop. One of the ways is through a campaign that tells them it is ok to seek professional help when feeling depressed. It is estimated that about more than half of the people who commit suicide have had a history of depression before. Asking people who might portray the signs of depression to check themselves for a therapy session is a good way of trying to ensure that they could reduce the suicide numbers. The program will also go a long way in trying to ensure that the public does not perceive people who commit suicide as weak-minded. The public should perceive those who commit suicide as people who needed help. The posters designed will show that not all people seem ok on the outside are psychologically and emotionally well. Helping people understand it could happen to anyone is an excellent way to create public understanding of one of the most significant issues that plague men in society.
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