Using Instagram to Promote Youth Mental Health: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Brief Social Contact-Based Video...

Depression is a leading cause of disability among youth, with stigma significantly hindering mental health service utilization. Social media platforms offer a promising means to reach large, diverse youth populations, providing an opportunity to deliver interventions where young people are highly active. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of delivering a proven social contact-based video intervention via Instagram. We hypothesized that the intervention would be feasible and acceptable, generating higher link clicks and lower cost-per-click compared with control videos.

A 2-week Instagram campaign in February 2024 targeted US adolescents ages 14 to 22. The campaign featured a 60-second human-narrated personal story video, previously tested and shown to reduce depression stigma. The intervention's effectiveness was assessed using key metrics: impressions (the number of times the video was displayed), reach (the number of distinct viewers), link clicks (engagement with mental health resources), and cost-per-click (cost-effectiveness). These metrics were compared with 4 control videos that varied in narration style and content.

The campaign generated 808,000 impressions, reached 287,100 viewers, and resulted in 4,148 link clicks. The intervention video achieved 874 link clicks with a cost-per-click of $0.92, outperforming 3 of the 4 control videos.

This study demonstrates that Instagram is a feasible and acceptable platform for disseminating evidence-based mental health interventions aimed at reducing depression stigma among youth. The findings support the potential for broader use of social media in public mental health strategies, though further research is needed to monitor subsequent help-seeking behaviors and assess impact across diverse groups.

• Social media platforms like Instagram that have brief and visually engaging content may engage youth with mental health interventions.• Incorporating social contact-based interventions, such as personal stories, may effectively reduce stigma and promote help-seeking behaviors.• Pretesting mental health interventions in controlled settings could ensure content is both effective and safe before widespread dissemination.• Target interventions toward age-appropriate audiences with culturally sensitive narratives to enhance relatability and engagement.

We worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented racial and/or ethnic groups in science. One or more of the authors of this paper self-identifies as a member of one or more historically underrepresented sexual and/or gender groups in science. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. We worked to ensure that the study questionnaires were prepared in an inclusive way.