01 May MTV’s Mental Health Media Guide
In 2021, Chris McCarthy, the president and CEO of Viacom-CBS and MTV Networks, launched the Mental Health Storytelling Coalition and the publication of the Mental Health Media Guide. The purpose of the guide is to teach content creators how to develop more positive mental health storylines that include a diverse range of experiences. With the release of “Wolf Pack,” the first scripted series using the guide’s recommendations, Fluent’s UX Researcher Charlotte Beatty shares her thoughts about the impact of media on teen wellbeing and the implications for the guide on developing storylines that change the narrative on mental health.
“Wolf Pack” is the first scripted series from MTV Entertainment Studios to incorporate the guide. The writers room also worked with consultant Courtney Knowles, senior media advisor for The JED Foundation (JED), a Fluent client and a nonprofit geared toward protecting emotional health and preventing suicide that is particularly geared toward teens.
Most of us will never forget the movies, TV shows, music, and media that made an impact on us as teenagers. Adolescence is a period where individuals are searching for meaning and self-discovery, and nothing feels better than finding a piece of art that makes you feel seen. For about half of the population, adolescence is also a period where mental illness symptoms begin to appear, typically anywhere between ages 14-24.
At Fluent, we talk to teenagers every day about experiences with growing up, mental health, and the media for clients such as JED. In recent years, shows like Euphoria, 13 Reasons Why, and Stranger Things have captured the attention of teenagers across the nation because of the different ways the shows tell stories about mental illness. Storytellers have experimented with a range of portrayals — from painful hyperrealism, as seen in Euphoria, to personifying mental illness with monsters and fantasy world building, such as with Vecna in Stranger Things. Reported rates of mental illness among teenagers have been on the rise, so it’s no wonder that these shows have garnered so much attention, whether it be praise or criticism.
In a post-pandemic world where teenagers are more tapped into media than ever before and having an “emotional support show” has become a regular turn of phrase, it’s exciting to dream of new ways that research can support production development in the film and television space. MTV and its collaborators are breaking exciting ground with their Mental Health Media Guide as they broach one of the most prominent and topical areas of contemporary television for teens. This progress builds on the legacy of research in media, initiated by researchers at The Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop, but turns the conversation towards adolescence and mental wellbeing with a focus on considering realistic, positive solutions, and problem-solving when it comes to mental health storytelling.
