[ad_1]
They talk about their illness on social media: incluencers. They educate and show that you are not alone.
When Robin Rehmann received his diagnosis, he was initially overwhelmed: “When you receive a diagnosis like this from a doctor, it is not the same as when you are faced with someone who talks about themselves personally.” To understand how to live with the chronic inflammation of the intestine called ulcerative colitis, he started googling and searching for people with their personal stories to tell about it.
Today Robin Rehmann has himself a YouTube channel and reveals the most intimate moments of himself. “This is how you help yourself, but also many others, I think.”
It’s not the only one. Janine Imfeld also dared to come out into the open. You were diagnosed with breast cancer just under a year ago. From the beginning, she shared the stressful situation on Instagram. “The first post took a lot of courage,” says Janine Imfeld. Because before she was not so present on social networks. “And when it comes to something personal, it’s one more step. I took courage and discovered: this must be done now. I want to tell it. “
Different extremes and a lot of variation between them
Like Janine Imfeld and Robin Rehmann, more and more people are using social media to raise awareness of their illness, be it restricted, chronically ill, or acutely ill.
Angel Rose Schmocker discusses how diseases are addressed on social media. As a trend researcher at the Zurich University of the Arts, she studies this change. «The disease appears. That is just a statement. And it shows very publicly. “
Schmocker and his team examined countless Instagram profiles for their research and determined different characteristics: “There are people who are extremely ill, who show scars, very precarious and very dark content.” On the other hand, there are also very good sides: “Healthy people who are recovering, people who help others, share slogans and life advice.” There are many different versions between these two extremes.
Wit and self-irony
One person who makes himself heard with humor is Phil Frei. He has lived with a rare genetic disease since birth. He started uploading videos to TikTok four months ago. In a very short time he now has more than 21,000 followers.
“It’s important to me that people realize that I’m a normal person, that I also want to belong to normal society,” says Phil Frei, who calls himself “the talker” on the Internet. As an influencer, you want to use your videos to sensitize other people to your situation, with a lot of irony and ingenuity.
Gaining understanding with humor can work, says Urte Scholz, a psychologist at the University of Zurich. “Humor is probably not a bad strategy.” This is a way to free yourself from the role of victim: “You are not only disabled or sick, but also a very funny person.”
The other side of the coin
In seeking acceptance and support, the Inkluencers reveal much of their personality. “And that also carries the risk of negative comments from time to time,” says Urte Scholz.
Robin Rehmann experiences something similar from time to time. Not only does he address his own disease, as a radio host on SRF Virus he has also launched a program in which those affected can talk about their disease without taboos. “There are people who would like to see that deleted. Because they are spoken of negatively at work and that they feel they are being judged by this interview they gave me. “But these are only isolated cases.” For most of them it is a liberation. “
In the community spotlight
Trend researcher Angel Rose Schmocker doesn’t see influencers seeking attention via the internet and social media as a bad thing. “Because this care is also important to give the disease a place in society.”
The result is impressive: “I think that the whole thing has led to the elimination of the taboos of various diseases,” says psychologist Urte Scholz, “and that you are more open and obtain information more easily.”
Janine Imfeld was able to get a lot of positive things from her community: “It was a kind of therapy for me to be able to talk about it.” In this way, she met many great people who are in the same situation. “They help each other, they give advice, they are there for each other.” Janine Imfeld now has solid ground under her feet again. She currently does not have cancer. But your way was hard. The community played an important role in her healing process.
[ad_2]
