Social media app TikTok has released the results for World Mental Health Day after the platform collaborated with different creators globally for a campaign to bring awareness on mental health.
World Mental Health Day is celebrated on October 10 and TikTok has rolled out a digital wellbeing programme. The platform aims to address crucial conversations and issues so users are able to talk about mental health issues freely.
Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, head of public policy and government relations at TikTok in Africa, said the world’s digital destination for community-driven entertainment is about inspiring creativity and bringing joy.
“The mental wellbeing of our users is therefore of high priority. We will continue to use survey-based data and insights to inform our policies and product development in a way that normalises conversations around mental wellbeing and encourages principles like self-acceptance and self-care,” said Mgwili-Sibanda.
The research, conducted locally, shows that most online users feel comfortable talking about mental health issues as much as they consider physical health.
Other survey respondents opened up about being engaged about mental health issues by a social media community. The other half of the respondents to the research expressed that having free access to tools related to mental health plays a big role in making them feel comfortable talking about such issues.
“Of particular interest to us was the fact that respondents belonging to older age groups and millennials seem more open to discussing the topic of mental health than Gen Zs.
“Almost 50% of millennials, however, expressed fear of being judged by friends and family if they were more open and publicly vocal about these issues. So, although the evidence suggests that the groundwork has been laid for more authentic conversations, there is still a long way to go.
“As an entertainment platform, we take our role in driving this positive change very seriously,” added Mgwili-Sibanda.
Over the month of October, TikTok will run an initiative to bring mental health to the fore of online conversation and to inform, empower and inspire users.
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