Don’t Believe Everything You Read on The Internet

Everybody knows too well about the benefits that technology and the development of the internet have brought to us today.

It’s rapid growth has enabled people to earn for themselves, particularly through sites such as the like of YouTube.

Yet, there are far too many who have abused the system, pretending to be somebody else, when they really aren’t…

Takle, for example, this person who I’m about to tell you about, he makes money on YouTube trying to sell you (yes, sell you) advice that he is most certainly not qualified in doing.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am all for people sharing helpful ideas that helped them, and simply want to share this information, to hopefully help others… but at the cost of what?

Yet so many people do, and the internet is crammed full with differing advice from so many people who claim to be a medical practitioner, and attempt to make you think that they have a miraculous ability to help you sleep better at night, but how true are these claims?

This is where the power of research comes in useful.

So, I checked this guy out…

I’m all scepticism, there’s no doubt about that.

Yes, sceptic through and through. He even has a YouTube channel, which does nothing to ease the scepticism.

Dr. Alan Mandell ‘has helped hundreds of thousands of people worldwide with his self-help videos to get well naturally, without the use of drugs, dangerous side effects, and invasive procedures. His years of experience through spinal biomechanics (the study of the mechanical laws relating to the movement or structure of living organisms) and nutritional background is what sets him apart from all others.’

Apparently though…

Dr. Mandell, also known as Dr. Pimple Popper, has gained a massive following on YouTube and other social media platforms with his videos featuring extractions and other skin care procedures. While his content has been entertaining and educational, many have questioned his lack of medical credentials. Critics argue that his unqualified advice and procedures are potentially harmful to viewers (his real name is actually Brian Joseph M., and he is a dermatology esthetician with a background in cosmetology. Brian is not licensed as a medical doctor (MD) in the United States or any other country.)

To qualify as a medical doctor (particularly in Britain) takes a minimum of seven long years at medical university… and then some.

In America, it goes like this, 4 years for bachelor’s degree; 4 years for medical school; 3–7 years in residency and fellowships depending on specialty (that’s 15 years!)

I spent four years studying for my nursing degree in psychiatry here in Britain, and even after those initial years, there were then many more years of monitored support and practice after that.

So, it angers me that people need to pretend to be someone who they plainly are not…

What for I ask?

Simply for the sake of making money?

After having to stop working due to medical complications myself, I indeed find it very hard to live on state benefits alone so, that is precisely why I write now… in an attempt to share what I have learned throughout my 32 years in mental health.

Yet, none of that makes me want to pretend I am someone who I am not, just for the sake of making money as a fake on a YouTube channel.

It’s not fair.

It’s not right.

It’s misleading.

It’s potentially dangerous.

Trust me when I tell you that there is nothing wrong or sinister about wanting to make a bit of money, particularly when you have the knowledge to help others in the process, through your writing.

It's a win, win scenario.

But, and here's a big but, there is everything wrong when what you doing, and earning money from, is all down to that person pretending to be someone who they are not.

Pretending to be someone who you are NOT for the purposes of your own financial gain is deceitful and untruthful to both you & others.

How can you expect to gain the trust of others, if you yourself are lying about who you are?

As critics have stated, ‘his unqualified advice and procedures are potentially harmful to viewers..’

So, how, and why, do I do it?

Well yes, it is true, I do hold a full qualification in practical mental health nursing, and have amassed a journey of thirty-two years in every discipline of pyschiatry, having the had the responsibility of caring and supporting children, adolescents, adults, and the elderly, who have required help & support and, I will willingly help those who either want of need that help even now.

Granted, I don't make crazy amounts of money doing this but, in remaining truthful to myself...

Hey, at least I sleep at night.

- First published on Medium