The article “Stop Romanticizing Mental Illness” by Gloria Boland opened my mind and broadened my views on an unfortunate trend in social media. We as teenagers have become desensitized to the real seriousness of mental illness as a result of being overexposed to fallacies about mental illness through social media and current films.

When Gloria refers to mental illness as “not beautiful,” but instead discusses how a person with a mental illness has the capability to be beautiful, it made me put things in perspective that social media has sadly caused to fade into the background. For example, she wrote about the daily struggle that someone with bipolar disorder, kleptomania, anorexia, antisocial disorder, or bulimia goes through; that is not a quirky trait or something for writers to glamorize.

Though many argue that exposure through social media brings attention to causes and helps us become informed, this is wrong. Consider the trend that took over the Internet and social media this summer – the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. The idea was that pouring a bucket of ice water over your head simulated what 10 seconds of life with ALS would feel like, and would raise awareness. Though this challenge spread like wildfire, most people didn't bother to understand the actual meaning of the challenge and simply did it because, as Gloria wrote in her article, it was “in” at the time. This is a perfect example of how serious topics can get lost as a result of overexposure.

As our society is influenced more and more by social media, I hope that articles like “Stop Romanticizing Mental Illness” become popular and “in.” I, along with millions of teens, need to understand how serious mental illness is and how it is a burden that people carry all their lives.

I applaud Gloria for not only opening my mind but also hopefully opening other young adults' minds. I sincerely hope that this topical piece continues to make teens think twice about romanticizing mental illness and why it should be stopped.