Inside the forum where Gen Z seeks help
There’s less difference between the online and physical world for Gen Z, who have little issue talking about their mental health online.
In October 2020, as the first year of the pandemic neared its end and social media was flooded with messages telling users “it’s OK not to be OK”, Australia’s oldest online mental health network ran an experiment.
More than a dozen people who turned to the internet at a moment of personal crisis would soon be speaking to a support worker, without ever having dialled a number.
How they wound up on the phone to Lifeline and other support workers was the result of a pilot program, one which demonstrates the future of integrated mental health support, said ReachOut chief executive Ashley de Silva.
ReachOut used the IP addresses of its website visitors to track the search terms they entered the site on and what they did next.
If the user met a number of criteria flagging they may be at risk, which included accessing three or more pages on the topics of suicide, self-harm, depression, coping, isolation and loneliness and anxiety, between 7pm and 11.30pm in a 24-hour window, they received a prompt – known as smart nudge – asking if they needed help.
The pilot ran for four months and over its course 1,171 users triggered the intercept tool. Of that number, 84 confirmed that they did, in fact, need help.
The use of IP addresses to track at-risk people isn’t new. ReachOut uses the method to provide emergency services the location of at-risk people from its online mental health forum.
The forum, which began more than 10 years ago and takes inspiration from forums like Reddit, is accessed by about 60,000 teens aged 14 to 25.
The purpose is to provide a moderated community where young people can share issues, explore support methods and ask questions about the troubles they face in its 17 themed groups. These cover drugs and alcohol, disability, chronic illness, family and home life, gender, sexuality, work and money.
Inside, questions range from sexual assault to first jobs, leaving home for the first time and young people spreading misinformation about Covid-19.
To an older person, engaging in an online forum about mental health might seem unusual. But to Gen Z, the practice is anything but.
“This differentiation between offline and online is not really that felt, it’s just life (for Gen Z),” Mr de Silva said.
For Kai Hale, 22, this was true. Hale first came across the forum about nine years ago.
“I was definitely lurking and reading stuff for a while before I posted,” they said.
Hale posted about a dozen questions across various groups before seeking in-person help.
“Knowing that you’re not alone and knowing there are other people feeling the exact same things is incredibly helpful,” they said.
In 2019 Hale began as a youth ambassador, hosting ask me anything-style discussions for forum users.
The way young people engage online has changed significantly, Hale said: “I’ve definitely found that this generation is a lot more open to speaking up on the internet because it’s a bit more normalised now.”
Janine Nelson, a ReachOut online moderator who responds to teens in the forum, agrees.
“From what I can see from the generation on the forum, a lot of people are really comfortable in an online space talking about their mental health journey,” she said.
“I think the fact that the forums are anonymous gives people the space to speak more freely. We definitely see people using the forums who say they’re not able to speak the same way in their day-to-day life.”
ReachOut data found 88 per cent of forum users have taken action after using the service and 27 per cent have sought professional help.
The success “really comes from that recognition that for a lot of people, needing to speak to an expert isn’t always their natural starting point,” Mr de Silva said.
Need help? Lifeline is only a call (13 11 14) or text (04 77 13 11 14) away. ReachOut is available at au.reachout.com
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