Big boys don’t cry [Offline]: the phygital disconnect between online and offline mental wellness engagement

ABSTRACT

Health technology is changing the way consumers engage with health professionals and their own well-being. Although digital solutions often focus on supplementing physical care, some have potential as an alternative to offline engagements. This research considers how such phygital experiences can promote well-being and social connectedness. Specifically, we explore how online mental health apps help men to engage in well-being discourses, conversations that they would feel unable to have or uneasy about having without the anonymity of the online setting. However, unlike other phygital products, this app can hinder ongoing offline therapy and even deter some men from seeking professional medical help. Data are drawn from an online peer-support forum and interviews with men struggling with mental illness and mental health advocates. The manuscript concludes by recognising the imperative for research furthering understanding of consumption practices associated with poor mental health and marketing practices that promote mental well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Phygital experiences
• marketing strategy
• customer experience
• transformative consumer research
• online communities
• health promotion
• mental health and well-being
• masculinity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).