The reason people are making the ‘okay’ symbol on social media is so important

More of this please.

Cathy Donohue

The reason people are making the ‘okay’ symbol on social media is so important

Get sharing immediately.

If you’re an avid Twitter user, you might have noticed the okay symbol in your timeline recently.

Whether you’re aware of it yet or not, the reason for people sharing this symbol is just great.

The social media campaign was spearheaded by Luke Ambler, a rugby league player for Halifax, after his brother-in-law took his own life in April.

Luke was eager to do something, anything, to help and so he set up a Facebook page, entitled Andy’s Man Club, encouraging men to speak out about any emotional distress they’re experiencing or mental health struggles they’re undergoing.

He has also instigated a Twitter campaign with the tag line It’s Okay To Talk and hashtag #ITSOKAYTOTALK run in conjunction with Campaign Against Living Miserably (Calm) and this is where the okay symbol comes in.

The idea behind the campaign is to:

take a selfie making the ‘okay symbol’
tag five friends
this way, you’re encouraging people to spread the message that it’s okay to talk

Nice one @Ambler09, really on board with this. I nominate all of you to get involved… #ITSOKAYTOTALK #ANDYSMANCLUB pic.twitter.com/Z0GST51goT

— Matthew Lewis (@Mattdavelewis) August 5, 2016

ANDYS MAN CLUB: This is our selfie, we’re nominating you for the #ITSOKAYTOTALK campaign! https://t.co/HJ32h6jndO pic.twitter.com/OSTZ7zuGd9

— Halifax RLFC (@Halifax_RLFC) August 1, 2016

Thanks @elliotdaly #ITSOKAYTOTALK @Jwd_16 @roryburns17 @harryschof1 @_TC59 @SteveDavies43 pic.twitter.com/ZzpeMsYUVq

— Jason Roy (@JasonRoy20) August 8, 2016

We MUST tackle the taboo & get the message out there that it’s #itsokaytotalk about anxiety or depression pic.twitter.com/DiCfg1AF1N

— Norman Lamb (@normanlamb) August 8, 2016