The Effect of Psychological Disease Portrayals in TV Series on Internet Searches: A Google Trends Based Analysis

Abstract

This study suggests that TV series about psychology will significantly trigger internet search interest in mental health. The study observed public digital interest of psychiatric disorders represented in TV series through Google Trends, a public database between 2019-2021. The present study explored the social impact of two TV series based on real stories and focused on psychological analysis. These serials were adapted from the novel Madalyonun İçi (2004). Kırmızı Oda (2020- ) exhibits the processes of psychotherapy, and Masumlar Apartmanı (2020- ) narrates the daily lives of individuals with psychiatric disorders. The terms searched in Google Trends such as “paranoid personality disorder,” “Cotard syndrome,” “panic attack,” “major depression,” “obsessive compulsive disorder,” “enuresis,” “disposophobia,” and “borderline personality disorder” were peaked about the story of these TV series. The findings showed that TV shows spurred substantial rises in internet searches of various social problems, such as psychiatric disorders.