Two in five young people in Australia (40%) are experiencing mental health difficulties. And suicide remains the leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds. The need for mental health support has never been greater, but despite this, services are difficult to access. At a time where many people are not receiving the support they need, it is important to look for new and innovative solutions to age-old problems.
The mental health sector has a significant opportunity to leverage existing and emerging technologies and platforms - such as social media - to provide more people with the mental health support they need, when, and importantly where, they need it.
Social media platforms are sources of education, social connection, news and entertainment - and in recent years have played an increasing role in connecting young people with evidence-based mental health support. For many young people in Australia, social media is the entry point into the mental health system and the first step on their help-seeking journey. ReachOut’s recent research report found that 40% of young people had sought professional mental health support after viewing mental health information on social media.
At ReachOut, we are dedicated to meeting young people where they are - the digital realm. We view our social media channels as a powerful tool to promote messaging that reduces stigma and feelings of isolation. We aim to provide impact-driven help in-platform, so there is one less step for young people to take when in distress. For those that need it, we inspire action and encourage greater help-seeking by facilitating warm handovers to our Online Community, our onsite content and our peer support service PeerChat. Through our social media channels we now have more opportunities to connect with young people during moments when they need it most, in ways that feel native to them.
Join ReachOut’s Senior Manager - Digital Content, Annie Wylie, as she discusses the role of social media in ReachOut’s service model. Annie will share insights from ReachOut’s recent research report exploring young people’s use of social media to support their mental health and wellbeing. She will also explore several case studies demonstrating how ReachOut has effectively engaged social media users with evidence-based mental health support, such as providing access to expert psychological advice and capturing current sentiment through being proactive and responsive around distressing global events.