Youth mental health is a growing concern among Americans, to the extent that 55% of the public feel there is an adolescent mental health problem in the US. Named the “anxious generation” by author and social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, Gen Z looks to gaming as a great escape from the struggles of everyday life.
Teens see online game platform Roblox as a safe space for self-expression, social connection, and stress relief. According to recent studies, 40% of Roblox users (72% ages 13-17) feel more authentically themselves in the metaverse compared to the physical world, while 25% believe spending time on Roblox improves their mental health. Taking this information into account, the nonprofit Advertising (Ad) Council, in partnership with the Utah-based Huntsman Mental Health Institute, launched Love, Your Mind World last week, the first nonprofit experience on Roblox dedicated to improving teen mental health.
“We know there is a real need to engage teens in taking care of their mental health. When we looked at the media landscape, we knew we had to meet them where they spend their time. So it made sense for us to build a gamified experience into Roblox—where they already are,” Nick Sugai, Senior Vice President and Group Campaign Director at the Ad Council, told BeautyMatter. “The reality is that 76% of young people under 18 play video games in the US, so it’s a way to connect that feels organic, engaging, and fun."
Created with guidance from mental health experts, in collaboration with integrated marketing agency dentsu and video game developer studio The Gang, Love, Your Mind World offers mental health education and coping strategies to support teens' emotional well-being. The immersive gaming space was created on the basis of survey information collected by a Roblox research panel from September 2024, which found that 72% of Roblox users agree it’s extremely important for them to actively take care of their mental well-being, yet more than half (55%) say they have no-to-little knowledge on how to do so.
Additional numbers confirm the severity of the situation—from 2016 to 2022, youth mental health hospitalizations increased by 124%, suggesting that it is now more critical than ever for younger generations to be educated on mental health resources and coping strategies.
“Part of our mission is to empower [young] people to navigate Roblox and the digital world with civility and confidence," Tami Bhaumik, Vice President of Civility and Partnerships at Roblox, said. "We do this by creating safe community spaces and delivering helpful resources in collaboration with global experts in the areas of human development, mental health, and digital literacy. The new Love, Your Mind World complements this by offering teens an experience designed to help meet their needs for more mental health resources."
Love, Your Mind World includes three interactive zones (known as “obbies”) that allow users to practice positive mental health strategies through engaging in quests and gameplay elements, developed in partnership with experts from Huntsman Mental Health Institute. These include the activations’ debut obby—The Friendship Forest—which aims to educate users on the strength of asking for help. As the month rolls out, Mindfulness Mountain will be introduced, offering tips to work through stress, as well as Labyrinth of Light, which will guide players through overcoming feelings of self-doubt to build emotional resilience.
Love, Your Mind World also includes free guided meditation and mindfulness exercises developed by mental health platform Headspace, featuring two of its expert meditation teachers, Eve Lewis Prieto and Dora Kamau. All content provided by Headspace is age-appropriate, and encourages gamers to practice grounding, allowing negative thoughts and emotions to pass by, while teaching them practical ways to combat stress and anxiety. Additionally, safety features have been implemented across the game space to provide a secure and comfortable space for users, including disabling chat features and all usernames being made anonymous during gameplay.
A group of contributing partners to Love, Your Mind World, including e.l.f. Beauty, Track and Field: Infinite, and Walmart helped to build the space, creating one-way portals that take users from their individual Roblox experiences to the mental-well-being-focused space. UGC wearables, which users can collect and keep for their avatars, were crafted by e.l.f. Beauty, Headspace, Pacsun, and Walmart, developed alongside dentsu and The Gang.
Additionally, e.l.f. Beauty's Gamer in Chief, Anna Bynum, will livestream a playthrough of the Love, Your Mind World on March 20th on the e.l.f. You! Twitch channel. “At e.l.f., kindness isn’t just a value; it’s in our DNA. We joined the Love, Your Mind World to extend our commitment to fostering safe, inclusive spaces where self-expression and mental well-being are prioritized,” Bynum told BeautyMatter. “By tapping into the creativity of platforms like Roblox, we aim to keep building safe, supportive environments where our community feels empowered to connect and express themselves.”
London-based data platforms GEEIQ and Latitude will also provide pro bono measurement and insights to help evaluate the impact of the world, which will help fuel further campaigns on the platform.
The launch of Love, Your Mind World highlights the growing commitment to youth mental health resources in a way that meets this generation where they are, allowing for enjoyable yet educational experiences. As brands such as e.l.f. Beauty contribute to such initiatives, an opportunity is opened for other beauty names to connect with young audiences on topics that genuinely matter, exemplifying authenticity for a generation filled with loyal consumers. Whether through in-game partnerships, bespoke avatar content, or wellness-focused experiences, brands can play a pivotal role in fostering safe and supportive online communities for future generations, setting a powerful precedent for change beyond beauty and gaming that infiltrates the real world.
