Premiering in Teen Vogue, Hi Anxiety is a social impact video series to help young people better deal with anxiety. In each episode, celebrities share their experiences with anxiety and mental health both before they were famous, as well as still today. These frank conversations with young people’s favorite stars are designed to bring awareness to the prevalence and daily impact of anxiety and to showcase stories of perseverance, as well as self-care tips, coping strategies and a reminder that anxiety is a normal thing we all deal with.
The series' first two episodes, released in 2019, featured Awkwafina and Lana Condor, and 2020’s episodes - shot 100% remotely - featured teen stars Lauv, Madison Bailey, Jessica Marie Garcia, Odeya Rush, and Hayley Kiyoko. The campaign has received press coverage in over a dozen publications including Vox, MTV, Bustle, the Daily Mail, AV Club, Nylon, Parade and Well + Good, in addition to our Teen Vogue premiere. The videos have also had over a million views across platforms.
Embedded into the project is an impact-campaign based on the framework of Social Emotional Learning (SEL). This work happens within the Hi Anxiety Instagram channel which has organically grown to nearly 200,000 followers in just eighteen months. Within the account, the Hi Anxiety team provides ongoing social and emotional support, including referring thousands of followers around the world to vetted mental health professionals in their local community. The project is designed to support young people within the social media platforms, like Instagram, where they already are.
The campaign’s impact partners include The Jed Foundation, our mental health clinical partner, and U.C. Irvine’s Connected Learning Lab, who are sharing their academic expertise on digital well-being and conducting ongoing research on the campaign. The project is produced by social-impact experts Single Palm Tree Productions and we are honored to be supported by Pivotal Ventures, the investment and incubation company created by Melinda Gates.