From outreach to action: How wellness communities on TikTok are supporting youth mental well-being

TikTok

The pandemic has shone the spotlight on mental wellness, particularly among teens and young adults.

Out of 3,336 youths surveyed in last year’s annual Singapore Youth Epidemiology and Resilience Study, one in three reported that they struggled with mental health issues.

The study, which was conducted jointly by the National University of Singapore, the Ministry of Education and the Institute of Mental Health, also found that almost one in six had externalised their mental health symptoms, such as hyperactivity and aggression.

Yet many are still reluctant to seek professional help, whether it is due to embarrassment or unwillingness to bother those around them. Others may be concerned about how doing so will affect their social standing, says digital literacy educator and mental toughness coach Ms Carol Loi.

But rather than suffer in silence, many youths are increasingly turning to online communities for support.

Creating a safe, supportive space for mental wellness issues

As the birthplace of some of the most viral content and Internet trends in history, TikTok is also responsible for no small number of groundbreaking forces for good on the internet, such as the evergreen #LearningIsFun hashtag that gave rise to educational content on the platform, and the #CreateKindness global safety campaign where content creators from the region highlight the importance of being kind online.

Why has it proven so effective at catalysing change?

“The easily-digestible and lighthearted nature of TikTok makes the content engaging for youths,” says Ms Loi.

Additionally, many youths are already on the platform, so outreach is an easy matter, she continues.

A content creator in this space is local youth-oriented non-profit organisation Limitless, which has been publishing short videos on TikTok since early 2022.

While it has been helping youths since 2018, the organisation’s TikTok initiative is its first foray into short-form video content.

And the results speak for themselves. With each video that gains traction, there is a marked increase in youths who seek help from them, says Mr Asher Low, executive director of Limitless. Their first-ever video chalked up over 80,000 views on its first day – and that weekend, over 150 youths reached out to Limitless to inquire about mental health support.

But even though TikTok’s content format and ease of sharing may contribute to the organic growth of mental wellness communities and resources, its success is also due in no small part to its continued support for its content creators.

“TikTok has great programmes and policies in place to support mental health content,” concurs Mr Low. “And they were also keen to support our work on their platform.”

Building a youth-driven peer support system on TikTok

Part of these efforts includes the ongoing TikTok Youth for Good initiative, which was first launched in May 2021.

Supported by the Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth, Ministry of Education, National Youth Council, and the Infocomm Media Development Authority, the initiative is an eight-week programme aimed at equipping content creators with the skills and tools to create educational content in support of youth mental health, as well as to support peers who may have been experiencing mental distress.

An experience at the Youth for Good programme inspired mental wellness content creator and university student Alistair Yap to start his own video series interviewing local social services to address potential concerns about seeking help.

“After graduating from the programme, I felt I could do more in the area of encouraging help-seeking. Many are increasingly aware of avenues where they can seek help, but hesitate to take the first step because of concerns about stigma, costs and confidentiality,” he says.

The series also intends to normalise help-seeking for mental health issues – to be regarded as something as normal as seeing a doctor when one feels unwell, he says.

Alistair was not the only one who felt empowered after attending the Youth for Good sharing sessions. Many others also reported receiving personal messages from attendees expressing their gratitude.

“I’ve received direct messages where users said they were more open to speaking about their mental health issues, and I’m grateful to have been able to hold that space,” says one.

“I’m glad I’m able to put into words what vulnerable users have been struggling to express for some time,” says another.

Further mental wellness initiatives under the TikTok For Good umbrella include the Elevate programme, which trained several local non-profit organisations – including Limitless – to create wellness content on TikTok.

These included tips on how to create more engaging content, increase visibility and reach on the platform, as well as direct vulnerable community members to resources and helplines for professional support.

All in all, both the Youth for Good initiatives and Elevate programme have brought together over 40 creators and 43 non-profit organisations to create more than 1,000 mental wellness videos, garnering over 11.5 million views in total to date.

Providing handy, evergreen resources for youth in need

Well aware of the importance of digital literacy in the role of mental wellness, TikTok also ensures that its Wellness Hub, a portal for TikTok’s mental well-being and cyber wellness resources, is regularly updated with search-optimised, evergreen mental health support content aimed at youths.

The Digital Literacy Edition of the Wellness Hub was launched in May last year, providing community members with guidelines on how they could keep themselves safe online, as well as inform themselves about potentially dangerous online challenges.

The Hub’s Creator Spotlight series also features a revolving roster of local mental health advocates and provides community members with a safe space in which to share their own stories through the hashtag #mentalhealthawareness.

“TikTok will continue to work closely with partners such as the government and non-profit organisations to educate community members on digital safety,” says Ms Teresa Tan, director of public policy in Singapore and south-east asia at TikTok. “This includes doubling down on our educational efforts through initiatives like the Digital Literacy Edition of the Hub to make resources more accessible, engaging, and useful for young people.”