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Azziad Nasenya tapped by TikTok in global mental wellness campaign


Kenyan TikToker Azziad Nasenya is among three Kenyans who have been tapped by TikTok Africa for the social media platform’s global mental health awareness campaign.

Azziad had been branded a champion of mental health byTikTok which saying “her positive vibes in calling out TikTok users to guard their mental well-being. From special TikTok features, tools and personal experience tips, Azziad opens a world that promotes practices of overcoming negative self-talk to manage stress.”

In collaboration with creators from around the world and its global community, TikTok introduced ‘Mental Well-Being Comes First’ a global campaign to bring awareness of the importance of mental well-being, allow understanding of mental wellness and empower communities to break the stigmas around talking about mental well-being.

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“As the world’s digital destination for community-driven entertainment, TikTok 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 normalizes conversations around mental wellbeing and encourages principles like self-acceptance and self-care,” said Fortune Mgwili-Sibanda, Head of Public Policy & Government Relations.

Another TikToker tapped by the global platform is SimonSaysKe who TikTok says, “helps us understand how behaviour influences mental well-being through hosting candid conversations. With diverse content and topics, this content creator demonstrates the importance of learning how to effectively handle each other to help manage emotions and reduce self-harm.”

TikTok Africa also tapped wellness doctor Dr Vundiwellness who it described as a user who “unpacks diverse content to help the community understand all facets of mental health. Her content provides an overview of toxic environments, addictions, signs of abuse, tips on therapies, coping with survivors, challenges in convincing people to visit a rehab or therapy center, and opens up the topic of lack of therapy insurance.”

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TikTok Africa said that the last few years have seen mental health issues take a more prominent place within public discourse and applauded celebrities and public figures for advocating for the destigmatization of disorders such as anxiety and depression.

“The pandemic fuelled this upward trend, putting a spotlight on the shared mental health struggles of countless individuals. Online platforms like TikTok have played a key role in helping mental health activists convey their messages and raise awareness around these pertinent issues with the hash tag #mentalhealth sitting at nearly 50 billion views and #Selfcare sitting at 28 billion views in-app,” TikTok Africa said.

With the world set to mark World Mental Health Day on October 10, 2022, TikTok has announced the rolling out of a digital wellbeing programme, supported by freely available resources and in-app tools.

“These initiatives are pivotal in furthering TikTok’s aims to be at the heart of these important conversations and to facilitate safe spaces for users to talk about and engage with mental health issues,” TikTok Africa said.

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