Surveying Cisgender Men's Perceptions and Usage of Digital Mental Wellbeing Tools

Background Compared to cisgender women, cisgender men are more likely to seek negative coping mechanisms and rely on externalizing behaviors (e.g., substance use) to manage distress. Although men's mental wellbeing is well-studied, men are often unintentionally excluded as participants in digital mental wellbeing research due to factors such as self-selected exclusion and stigma related to mental wellbeing and masculinity. The low number of male research participants substantially limits our understanding of how they perceive digital mental wellbeing tools (DMWTs) and if/how they use technologies for mental wellbeing management. Without targeted recruitment, men will likely continue to be underrepresented in DMH research. This study aimed to explore the types of technology men use for mental wellbeing support, perceived challenges with DMWTs, and overall opinions on mental wellbeing and DMWTs. Methods We designed a survey with multiple-choice and Likert scales to understand sources of support, comfort levels discussing mental wellbeing, types of technology used for mental wellbeing, and factors for not using those technologies. We used snowball sampling and distributed the survey on social media sites (e.g., LinkedIn, Instagram) and survey-sharing platforms (e.g., SurveySwap), receiving 124 eligible responses. All participants self-identified as cisgender males residing in the United States. The majority (82.6%) of participants were aged 18 to 45 (median = 30.5), heterosexual (85%), non-Hispanic White (52.4%), and had a bachelor’s degree or beyond (90.4%). Results Our preliminary analysis indicates a statistically significant association between worse mental wellbeing (e.g., struggling) and seeking DMWTs, controlling or not for demographic factors. No demographic variable was associated with the frequency of use of DMWTs. In the past 12 months, most participants (84.7%) either did not use DMWTs or used them sometimes. When choosing technology for mental wellbeing support, participants ranked convenience, ease of use, and usefulness as very important, while novelty was the least important. Perceived barriers to DMWTs use included lack of perceived usefulness (45.2%), technology fatigue (43.6%), privacy concerns (37.1%), and a lack of awareness of DMWTs (35.5%). The most used technologies for mental wellbeing were music apps (57.3%), video games (37.9%), mindfulness apps (33.9%), and podcasts (33.1%). Notably, many participants felt very uncomfortable talking with strangers on social media platforms and comfortable discussing with their coworkers about their mental wellbeing. Conclusions Entertainment-focused technologies are more commonly used by cisgender men seeking mental wellbeing support. This study sheds light on potential factors that may incentivize men to seek and use DMWTs. Understanding the specific ways cisgender men use entertainment platforms to support their mental wellbeing will require more in-depth qualitative research. Limitations The study was limited by a small sample size, particularly among racially diverse participants. We would like feedback from the SDMH community while we plan for the qualitative phase of this study.