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Conclusion

In document Why Can’t You Just Do It? (pagina 56-63)

emerges, others to how it is perceived. Regarding the former, there is a very strong link to what I referred to in the chapter on the theoretical framework as cognitive capitalism and psychopathologies. For example, the constant focus on being "on track," on not wasting time, and the aura of "failure" that weighs on those who are not, are well understood within the framework of the neoliberal self, whose validation comes through the paradigm of success and optimization (McGuigan 2014). The social requirements that create pressure and expectations on the life paths of young students are precisely the result of the achievement society model of self-actualization (Han 2017).

Likewise, the link between the gap between the info-sphere and the psycho-sphere (Berardi 2009), and the two different speeds at which they travel and the sense of bewilderment in contemplating the seemingly infinite possibilities of choice, seems sensible. The accelerated and increased flow of information to which new generations are subjected also has a strong impact in creating a fallacious comparative factor of their own satisfaction. These factors seemed to me diriment in being able to add that cognitive capitalism is a fertile environment for the development of anxiety and depression.

Another angle of this research, focused on what is involved in being a young person with anxious and depressive behaviors. In this aspect, the concept of privatization of stress that Fisher (2009) provides us with, seems to capture the discomfort and loneliness that is experienced, despite the fact that it is a rather widespread phenomenon. The input that society has in addressing mental states is not taken into account in mental health discourse. This makes the topic difficult to communicate, as it promotes its perception as a private issue, the origins of which reside in the individual. Self-perception frequently resorts to the concept of failure and non-functioning, with respect to one's own potential for production, not exploited to the fullest. Recurrent self-blaming is the most logical consequence of magical voluntarism (Smail 2009), according to which the origin and solution to one's problems reside in one' s self. Of great importance turned out to be the procrastination aspect, which I did not expect to be the ultimate exemplification of the anxious relationship with the academic environment.

Moreover, as it emerges from the last part of the netnography, the need for support to alleviate the struggles lived by the students, is apparently not met by the services provided by the University. It has to be said that I am writing this thesis months after the online research was conducted, so the situation might have changed. But as of September 2021, the perception of some students was to be forgotten by their own university. This information is

To conclude, the intent of this thesis was to see if some experiences I was seeing around me could be understood through the broad theoretical framework previously described. The purpose was to see if some phenomena are observable in light of theoretical paradigms, and the other way around, if it is possible to substantiate with data drawn from the field. What emerged is indeed that the concept of psychopathologies of cognitive capitalism adds a point of view, in my opinion fundamental, to understanding the contemporary student's form of life. Being at a time in life that almost by definition is a time of choice, such as young adulthood, and in which the ability to project into the future is critical, is combined with a culture of success and consistency. The experiences of anxiety and depression among students are a current testimony to how a mind is formed, what informs it, and what, among that information is shared with others. Identifying the importance and specifics of cultural context creates a different, less individual perspective on the manifestations of the psyche. At the same time, the manifestations of the psyche are valuable windows into the neoliberal and accelerated world in which we live in. Within this double transit of influences students' experiences are positioned. Bringing these two perspective together, following the methodological e theoretical approach of anthropology by making speak the macro aspects of things with the micro, it has been an interesting way of looking at this topic and it is mirrored in how these experiences are lived: thought of as social issues but felt as individual distress.

Recommendations for Further Research

As was pointed out in the introduction to this thesis, the original intent was to frame this research as a Participatory Action Research. I think that PAR is particularly adapt for this topic as through it “People can come to understand that—and how—their social and educational practices are located in, and are the product of, particular material, social, and historical circumstances that produced them and by which they are reproduced in everyday social interaction in a particular setting.” (S.Kemmis & R. McTaggart, 2007). From this understanding comes the transformative power towards those same reproduced practices. I therefore think that, with this same theoretical framework, a participatory approach would not only create a better understanding of the topic, but would also have a transformative function that, alongside the already undertaken ways of dealing with mental distress, could be beneficial.

There are several ways to expand the topic of this research into a more-comprehensive conceptualization of the phenomenon. One could be to broaden the attention to the whole academic environment and the people who inhabit it, meaning professors, Phds and academic staff, who most certainly live and work under the pressures of cognitive capitalism.

Another one, could be to undertake a more intersectional approach, narrowing the research to a specific group of students whose identity in terms of gender, ethnicity or class particularly influence their mental states. In this research, I did not undertake this approach, not because I do not believe that the intersectional lens is extremely useful, but because I wanted to render the width of the phenomenon, a generational tendency.

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