A mental health advocate is hoping to “spark some important conversations” by launching a social media campaign advocating kindness.

Jess Davies, from Penrhyncoch, is launching the Be Kind, Be You campaign, in partnership with the Royal College of Psychiatrists Wales, to encourage people to be kinder to others online.

The Be Kind, Be You campaign video has been released for Mental Health Awareness Week 2020, which runs from 18 to 24 May and has adopted the theme of kindness.

Jess said: “It’s been so empowering to take part in this project and help share the stories of those who have been a target of online trolls.”

The campaign video was filmed, narrated, and edited by Jess, who also features in the video alongside some famous faces and individuals who have experienced trolling and hate online.

The video was launched by Jess 5pm today across her social media platforms.

Jess told the Cambrian News about the “inspiring” project, and how her passion for the campaign came from her own experiences on social media from young age: “I wanted to collaborate with the college on this project as I have been subjected to negative comments online ever since I started using social media at the age of 14.

“Since then, I have grown my following over the years and the negative comments have proceeded to get worse and more frequent, and I really wanted to highlight how these can have a negative effect on people’s mental health.”

Jess left Penrhyncoch at the age of 18 to study at the University of South Wales in Cardiff, where she still lives.

Jess entered the limelight when she became glamour model and went on to reinvent herself as an online personality. She has also launched a blog, Jabber with Jess, which considers the effects of online harassment and mental health.

“I think we often forget that there are real people behind the phone screens and social media accounts, and so I ask some famous faces and individuals who have been on the receiving end of trolling themselves to get involved in the project to help my spread the word of kindness,” Jess added.

Michael Sheen, Owain Arthur, Divina De Campo, Ovie Soko and Connagh Howard of Love Island all feature in the video, sharing messages of kindness.

Also featured in the video is Aberystwyth actor Jacob Ifans and former Aberystwyth University student turned Blue Peter presenter Richie Driss.

“Social media has had a notorious effect on people’s mental health and so it was the perfect partnership to team up with the Royal College Of Psychiatrists to help spread this message of kindness online and highlight how upsetting these comments can be.

“Especially now during lockdown as we are all using our phones more often.”

To access mental health support leaflets, go to https://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/mental-health