Social media interactions climb 13%
MONTREAL – It was another Bell Let's Talk Day for the record books as people across Canada and beyond talked, texted and engaged across social media in the mental health conversation.
Bell pledged to donate a further $7.2 million to Canadian mental health programs after Wednesday’s Bell Let’s Talk Day recorded over 145 million calls, tweets, texts and shares.
Between midnight in Newfoundland and Labrador and midnight in British Columbia, there were 145,442,699 eligible Bell Let's Talk interactions, an increase of more than 5% over last year. Eligible interactions include Bell mobile calls, long-distance calls and texts, as well as tweets, retweets, filters, frames and video views on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, all at no charge to participants beyond what they would normally pay their provider for phone or online access.
Social media engagement on Bell Let's Talk Day was up significantly to 27,477,153 interactions, an increase of 13% over 2018. Viewings of the official Bell Let's Talk video on social media were also up approximately 50% compared to last year's Bell Let's Talk Day.
Bell donates 5 cents per interaction, so the result is a further $7,272,134.95 in funding for Canadian mental health programs. The company’s total donation to mental health programs since the initiative kicked off in 2011 now stands at $100,695,763.75, which includes Bell's original $50 million donation to launch the initiative.
Bell Let's Talk Day once again drew support from Canada's leaders from every political party – federal, provincial and territorial, and included tweets from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Governor General Julie Payette, and the Royal Family with a tweet from the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge Will and Kate and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Harry and Meghan.
"What a remarkable day for mental health! Thank you everyone for embracing those who struggle with mental illness, for helping to change attitudes and fight the stigma, and for helping drive Bell's donations to mental health by making your voice heard," said Bell Let's Talk chair Mary Deacon, in the news release. "Not only did we achieve significant new milestones in participation and Bell funding, Canada's leadership in growing the mental health conversation is clearly capturing the attention of the world."
