Students use social media to share about mental health
Junior Chaley Spaulding uses TikTok to make videos of her day
April 18, 2023
While social media can be seen as negative, junior Chaley Spaulding uses it as a way to send out positive messages. Spaulding uses TikTok as a way to share her life experiences while also advocating for mental health.
“Personally, I use social media to connect with others around me. I started posting videos about a year and a half ago in Jan. 2022 right after my birthday. I used to post little videos of my day every day, but now I just post every once in a while and I’m trying to start posting daily again,” Spaulding said. “I was inspired to make videos because I thought it would be a fun way to document my life while also connecting with others.”
While Spaulding posts about her life, she also has her friends star in her videos as well. Junior Kaitlyn Burke is in many of Spaulding’s videos and feels like the videos influenced those around them.
“I absolutely think Chaley’s videos influence others to use social media in a positive way,” Burke said. “I think that she posts things that are fun and enjoyable which can encourage others to do the same.”
Thanks to her account, Spaulding has been able to connect with people while also communicating about the importance of mental health.
“One thing I try and do is use my platform as much as I can to advocate for mental health. I’ve gotten numerous texts from friends and people that I’m not even super close with to tell me how much my mental health videos have helped them or someone they know,” Spaulding said. “For this reason, I think social media is super important and can be a big part in changing the world in the way it helps people understand they aren’t alone.”
Overall, Burke thinks that social media is a great way to spread awareness.
“I think social media shares many different people’s viewpoints and allows for a more rapid spread of valuable information that could’ve been possible in the past,” Burke said. “It has also allowed people to speak out about controversial topics while also spreading appreciation for other topics.”