Mental Well-Being Comes First by TikTok

TikTok, a leading destination for short-form mobile video today announced that it is reinforcing its commitment to fostering a safer space for mental health conversations with its latest in-app campaign "Mental Well-Being Comes First" along with new updates to the Digital Wellness Hub. This was shaped in consultation with experts and in accordance with results from a joint survey with market research firm YouGov, which underscored the need for greater mental wellness support ecosystems amongst adults above 18. Support Sunshine Kelly newbie on TikTok 

Mental Well-Being Comes First by TikTok

The survey, which was geared towards further understanding global and cross-generational attitudes towards mental well-being, uncovered people's comfort levels in talking about their own mental health and what can help them to feel more supported. The findings spotlighted several key challenges that have hindered mental health conversations within the community, including: 

• 42% of global respondents expressed fear that their loved ones would judge them or would not be able to help if they talked to them about this topic.

• 48% of global respondents are afraid that being open about their mental well-being will negatively affect their future prospects at work. 

"While significant strides have been made to cultivate more robust mental health support systems, it is clear that we must do more to normalise talking about and tackling the issue beyond just World Mental Health Day," said Kristoffer Rada, Head of Public Policy, TikTok Malaysia. "For TikTok, preserving good mental health is a year-round consistent effort, which is why we have a dedicated team to continuously explore and address social issues that stem from it. Everyone has their unique story to tell when it comes to their mental health journey and as a platform that encourages expressions in many forms, TikTok strives to be a space that continues to foster support networks and resources for all, allowing important conversations about well-being to truly thrive, comfort, and inspire users."

In conjunction with the recent World Mental Health Day, TikTok will be introducing a "Mental Well-Being Comes First" campaign that is geared toward raising awareness around mental well-being amongst the TikTok community and reinforcing available support systems. Support helplines to local non-profit organisations and resources – like TikTok's well-being guide, comment filters, and screen time management features –  will be made available to empower users to shape positive digital experiences for themselves. 

The TikTok-YouGov survey also cited that a significant number of respondents globally felt comfortable about sharing their mental health struggles if they had close loved ones who were open with theirs (47%) or if they had been encouraged to do so from an early age (31%). Taking this into account, TikTok rolled out a new 'Creator Spotlight' series, featuring local mental health advocates in the medical field such as doctors drfirdausm3, dr.samhan, rafidah72 and kinsulong and nurse belnawhen.

As medical professionals, these local creators gave perspectives on how to handle stresses, cope through grief or loss, become a pillar of support and the importance of celebrating the small wins - a subtle but powerful role in uplifting the  spirit. These creators additionally encouraged viewers to inspire and empower others in the community to share their stories as the path to good mental wellbeing is often journeyed together. 

Hashtags like #MentalHealth #KekalSihat were also introduced to raise awareness around mental well-being conversations and encourage the community to share their stories and experiences concerning their mental well-being. 

In addition to these resources, TikTok will also be providing an update to its Digital Wellness Hub – an existing one-stop portal that anchors all of its educational initiatives around mental well-being and cyber wellness – to further bolster its offerings to the local community. These include greater access to local support helplines and new videos – made in collaboration with local NPOs and government partners like to provide useful tips that promote mental well-being. 

These initiatives will boost TikTok's existing safeguards tailored to support users' mental health, including in-app well-being guides that have been developed in consultation with experts. The platform will also continue to take a two-pronged approach to address potentially harmful content on the platform including measures to remove videos that go against the platform's Community Guidelines as well as in-app tools that empower all users to block and report inappropriate content. 

*Methodology of YouGov Study 

Global Consumer Attitudes on Mental Well-being  is a survey conducted by YouGov among 16,000 adult consumers across 13 markets (United Kingdom, United States, Singapore, Germany, South Africa, Indonesia, Vietnam, Canada, Brazil, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, and Egypt), commissioned by TikTok in September 2022.