How do young people respond to stories from Mental Health Influencers?

In sites like TikTok, a range of social media influencers use stories to talk about mental health: health professionals, wellness figures and young people sharing so-called ‘recovery’ journeys. In this presentation, I share insights about how young people respond to videos from different mental health influencers, drawing on 13 individual and 18 group interviews with 16-25 year olds in the United Kingdom. Our findings show that a range of contextual factors shape their (un)willingness to engage with influencer content, including their beliefs about what platforms are ‘good for’, message fatigue, widespread scepticism about mental health support and ongoing stigma about mental health related to gendered identities. As such, we call for a platform-sensitive, personalised approach to ‘reach young people where they are’ (Loades et al., 2024).