Google Partners With Selena Gomez to Promote Mental Health Among Teens

Selena Gomez attends WE Day California in Inglewood, Calif., on April 25, 2019. (Emma McIntyre/Getty Images)

There was a time in Selena Gomez’s life when the young actress and singer had a hard time making sense of her emotions, Gomez said, but once she received the support she needed, she realized she wasn’t alone.

“Mental health is personal for me,” Gomez, 32, states on her website. “I went a long time without the support I needed because I didn’t understand what I was feeling.”

After learning that knowledge is power when it comes to mental health, the entertainer founded the Rare Impact Fund, which raises money from philanthropic foundations, individuals, corporate partners, and the community for distribution to mental health organizations.

Rare Impact Fund is among five youth mental health and education nonprofits that will receive $10 million from Google.

“No one should feel isolated in their mental health experiences, especially young people, who can be especially vulnerable to those struggles,” Gomez said in a press release. “Support is out there, and by standing together, we can make a real difference in teen mental health.”

Google’s Teen Mental Health Initiative aims to distribute mental health instructional materials to one million high school students and teachers. The Rare Impact Fund will share $10 million with DonorsChoose, The JED Foundation, Child Mind Institute, and The Steve Fund.

The move comes amid widespread criticism and lawsuits claiming Google-owned YouTube and other social media sites have fueled the childhood mental health crisis by deliberately designing addictive features.

Psychologists, such as David Campbell, believe the internet and social media are having a detrimental effect on children, adolescents, and adults.

“Social media platforms work on the same reward circuitry in the brain as does substance abuse and other process addictions,” Campbell told The Epoch Times. “Social media platforms, by design, incentive structure, and purposeful exploitation, are created to keep the user coming back over and over again.”

Campbell is the clinical and program director at the Recover Together Bend immersive addiction treatment facility in Bend, Oregon.

Internet and social media use can distract kids from important tasks, interfere with homework, hurt school performance, interfere with quality family time, and make kids feel lonely or isolated, according to a Nemours Children’s Health study.

“Parents should set clear boundaries on screen time and encourage regular breaks from social media to prevent overuse,” SafeTelecom CEO Eli Samuel told The Epoch Times. “It’s also important to monitor the content their children are exposed to and to foster open conversations about online experiences.”

SafeTelecom is a minimalist smartphone company. Minimalist smartphones are designed to prevent users from spending too much time on their phones.

Justin Steele, Google.org’s Director in the Americas, said the initiative highlights Google’s efforts to lead this “important conversation” and “be one part of contributing to positive solutions.”

“We have to give teens resources so they can build strong mental health habits,” Gomez said. “That’s why at the Rare Impact Fund, we want to expand access to mental health services by meeting young people where they are: in the classroom.”

In a social media post, Gomez urged teachers to create a mental health project on DonorsChoose for free resources that advance wellbeing in the classroom.

That’s because Google.org has funded all current mental health projects from high school teachers on the DonorsChoose platform and will provide up to $500 for eligible projects posted going forward. According to DonorsChoose research, more than 70 percent of public school teachers are concerned about their students’ mental health.

“So grateful for @Google’s support of @RareBeauty’s Rare Impact Fund as we join forces to help high school students and their teachers develop strong mental health habits,” Gomez said in an Aug. 13 post on Instagram, where she has 425 million followers.

It was widely reported that Gomez was hospitalized for mental health treatment after undergoing a kidney transplant in 2017.

Two years ago, while promoting her Apple TV+ documentary, “Selena Gomez: My Mind and Me,” the mental health advocate openly discussed her experiences with bipolar disorder.

“I wasn’t understanding my mind,” Gomez said in an online interview on May 2 about developing the disorder. “I wasn’t understanding my reactions and my emotions, and I think that was probably the most painful time in my life.”

The National Alliance on Mental Illness describes bipolar disorder as causing high and low moods, also known as mania and depression.

Some 4.4 percent of Americans—around 11.3 million people—will experience bipolar disorder at some point in their lives, according to The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

Campbell argues overuse of social media and the simultaneous use of multiple social media platforms can significantly exacerbate mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, body dysmorphia, eating disorders, isolation, and greater exposure to bullying.

“It can effectively rewire the brain to seek out immediate gratification, result in constant unfavorable comparison with others, and lead to problematic behavioral problems and performative features due to a desire for social acceptability.”

The Associated Press contributed to this article