A FORMER Worcester University student has created a film to reach out to people concerning social media usage.

Fred Hanbury, 24, had his film ‘Bits and Pieces' premiered at the ODEON, in Worcester, raising over £250 for Mind - a mental health charity.

It was inspired after digging deep into his past and recognising the link between mental health issues and social media, after a class peer took his own life.

He said: “Dominic was a very lovable character, and nobody was aware he was going through heavy mental health issues.

“It’s been nine years of post-traumatic stress with a great deal of self-worth issues. However, it leaves me thinking that I could have done something to help.

“It really woke me up. He obviously wasn’t stable, and he didn’t feel as though he could express himself in any way.”

Bits and Pieces is based on highlighting how important self-expression is. The film exposes social media addiction and an illusion which represents the perfect life yet emphasising that it is not always real.

Mr Hanbury added: “This was a remarkable opportunity to raise mental health awareness and how addictive social media is to society.

“It’s all about breaking the mould and finding yourself expression that compels you to live an authentic way of life and not online.

“Social media has many benefits; however, it can be described as an egotistic way to show off across many platforms.

“This ‘selfie culture’ that we are right in the middle of is not healthy.”

There are further plans to show the film in schools to inspire young people to use social media less and connect themselves with the real world.