The Ministry of Social Development launched a new youth mental-health initiative on the 28th of Feb – a youth-led e-health project.
Life Hack says they are “assembling a crack team of hipsters, hackers and hustlers…” Called Lifehackers. “The Mavericks and trailblazers, who don’t let a hurdle stop them, the ones who make things happen.” “…Together they’ll use their sweet skills to create new technologies and media solutions to tackle young New Zealanders’ mental health issues head on.”
Explore the newly launched Lifehack Website to find out more about the project and how youth can get involved.
In Lifehack: the youth mental wellness answer or a well-meaning quick fix? diversity consultant Philip Patston describes Lifehack as “a technology incubater run by (my words) well-meaning happiness evangelists and tech geeks, hell-bent on the idea that the answer to better youth mental health is to play more, say, “Yahoo!” and download an app.” He goes on to post two videos that reveal the Life Hack ad bears striking similarities to a Coca Cola ad, sharing unrealistic images of perfect bodies having sun-filled fun.
Comments on Facebook question the wisdom of investing so much money in a project that only some youth will directly participate in, instead of addressing the funding shortages in the primary mental-health sector. Others question the approach of gathering happy, successful people to tell other kids how to be happy, rather than seeking out youth with lived experiences and empowering them to lead the charge. One person suggests “as far as i know and i have yrs of experience w mental health issues, assistance and understanding, the best thing for people is tailored to individuals first of all, works with people who trust each other and rarely does any technology take the place of another well-trained, decent human being.”
Engage Aotearoa director, Miriam Larsen-Barr, comments “E-resources can be really useful, but in my opinion we really need more on-the-ground resources at the moment, more access to therapy and real-life support. Hopefully Lifehack can attract the right kind of young people with genuine intention, who are able to create something that has a life beyond the web. Computers really can’t replace human contact, meaning and belonging. That’s why all of our e-resources are designed to help people engage with their communities and support options.”
Lifehack needs young people who have experienced mental-health problems to get involved and make sure that the initiative goes in the right direction!
