23/08/2026
#๐๐ฎ๐ง๐๐๐ฒ๐ฌ are for a little reflection and appreciation for the amazing people whose guest insights add value to our curriculum.
We extend a huge thank you to ๐๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ง๐๐ข ๐๐ค๐ก๐ข๐ณ๐, a Marketing and Public Relations Executive Officer at Shelly Beach Hospital, who recently visited our Department of Public Relations Management to deliver a guest lecture titled โ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ฏ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐บ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ด๐๐
๐๐ ๐จ๐๐.โ
The guest lecture formed part of Society and the Media 102 (SOCM201), a module taught by Dr Nisha Ramlutchman.
Mr Mkhizeโs lecture offered a thought-provoking exploration of how social media algorithms are quietly reshaping the way society understands health and mental health. He highlighted how short-form media platforms can reduce complex issues, such as emotional regulation, into 15-second โlife hacksโ, rewarding engagement and sensationalism over scientific evidence and clinical nuance.
Using the viral Ashwagandha emotional numbing trend as a case study, Mr Mkhize demonstrated how a product traditionally associated with stress resilience can be rebranded online as an emotional โoff switchโ. When engagement metrics determine what gains visibility, everyday experiences such as stress and burnout can easily be appropriated as evidence of a productโs effectiveness, contributing to what he referred to as diagnostic drift.
๐ป๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐, ๐ด๐ ๐ด๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐, ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐.
Send a message to learn more
