Teens: Is Snapchat’s New Mental Health In-House App for You?

There’s no substitute for professional troubled teen services to manage many concerns such as anxiety, aggressive behavior or problems associated with peer pressure, substance abuse, and bullying. Many trouble teen programs exist and are just as diverse as the many struggles that teens or troubled teens may encounter.

In an age where social media and online support are at your fingertips 24/7, troubled teens have access to hundreds of apps to help cope with various behavioral issues. Apps such as Destructive Issue, Mindshift, or Betterhelp all offer ideal insight.

Given the recent stats from Statista that Snapchat is one of the top apps used among teens, it’s only a natural shift for the social media giant to launch Here for You, a new in-house app created to “help make a positive impact on the lives of the people who use the platform”.

Scheduled to roll out in the coming months (as of mid-February), Here for You is engineered to offer proactive support for users experiencing mental health or emotional issues, want to learn about various conditions, or how they can help friends dealing with certain struggles.

What’s interesting about the app is educational resources from local experts will be made available when certain topics – such as anxiety, depression, stress, grief, suicidal thoughts, and/or bullying – are searched for. Users also have access to Creative Tools and Lenses, which promote safety and privacy.

Smart technology is now more prevalent than ever. The same stat report concluded that 84 percent of teens aged 13 to 18 now have their own smart device, an increase from 67 percent just four years ago. Although Here for You has yet to be tried and tested, it’s one other effort to assist troubled teens or those looking for additional information on a variety of mental health concerns.