Paper short abstract:

A research on the apps for mental health has been carried out. The hypothesis is that these tools are a new driver of pharmaceuticalization. The results show as the use of these apps strength the neoliberal idea of health as an individual responsibility, marginalizing any discourse on social justice.

Paper long abstract:

Contemporary society is becoming increasingly medicalized (Light and Maturo, 2015). The last three versions of the DSM are characterized by a steady increase in the number of syndromes included (Conrad and Maturo, 2009). Indeed, mental health is likely the most pharmaceuticalized sphere (Abraham, 2010). On these basis, a research on the apps for mental health has been carried out. The hypothesis of the research is that the apps used to self-track different aspects of mental health are a new driver of pharmaceuticalization. The apps for health give rise to a neo-liberal discourse in which the subject is understood as a self-entrepreneur responsible for her own productivity (Lupton, 2014). The so-called "quantified self" acts on reality with the conviction that a data-driven life can enhance one's health status. The mechanisms that foster this attitude are "gamification" and "quantification". We seek to demonstrate this through a content analysis of the 12 most downloaded mental health apps focused on two different kinds of texts: the description provided by the app itself and the reviews written by its users. The investigation reveals that these types of apps are giving rise to an idea of the subject which is completely separated from social factors, with a strong emphasis on pharmaceuticals as the best response to mental disorders. As a result, this de-policitization and molecularization of mental health brought about by the apps strengthens the neoliberal idea of health as an individual responsibility, marginalizing any discourse on social justice.