#ShareItChallenge: Entrepreneur Vikas Sharma’s Filmynova Shows How Social Media Can Be Used Positively

In the last couple of years, the popularity of social media platforms has grown by leaps and bounds. Not just teenagers but people of all age groups remain hooked to their smartphones browsing through the different social media apps throughout the day. While many believe these social media platforms end up wasting our time, the truth is that if used wisely, they can bring positive change in our society. Young entrepreneur Vikas Sharma, who has launched many popular social media entities understood this and decided to champion the cause of mental health awareness through his brand Filmynova.

About this initiative, he says, "Filmynova is a Bollywood and entertainment-driven brand that has a large number of followers mostly in the 18-35 age group. This is the same age group that deals with a vast number of mental health issues including depression. Since we had a good reach, we thought we could use our platform to create awareness around mental health issues. Hashtags like #Depression and #HereForYou had been used in the past on social media and we used the same to talk about issues pertaining to mental health".

According to a report published by a leading news portal, more than 400 people committed suicide on a regular basis in India in the year 2020. Despite such a high suicide rate, the efforts taken by the government and private agencies have left much to be desired. Instead of expecting others to do something, Vikas believes, digital media entrepreneurs should step forward and carry out campaigns regularly to increase awareness around these issues.

"Most of the time, people who are suffering from depression or suicidal thoughts just need somebody to speak their heart out to. You can save lives just by being a good listener with empathy in your heart. With hashtags like #HereForYou and #LightenTheLoad and campaigns like #ShareItChallenge, we have encouraged our followers to talk about their issues and let us help them in whatever way we can. If your intentions are right and resolution is firm, you can bring a very positive change in the society through social media", the young entrepreneur says.

Vikas believes that if you manage to save one life or restore the smile that has gone missing from one person's face, putting your efforts in this direction will be worth it. The kind of initiatives taken by him should serve as a good example for other young entrepreneurs and digital media brands to come up with similar campaigns to champion the cause of mental health awareness.

Vikas and his brand's efforts towards bringing social change has been recognized by many institutions and organizations of international repute. Their socially-conscious efforts have inspired many youngsters. They have been digital media partners for IIT Delhi and Roorkee Cognizance, the annual technical festival of IIT.