Table 2.

Focus group transcript thematic analysis themes and subthemes.

Theme and subthemes			Examples
Peer support
	Looking after yourself	Manage pressure, responsibility, and expectations for the person who is helping Tips for dealing with the fear of making things worse or saying the “wrong thing”
	Barriers to helping friends	Concerns about respecting and overstepping boundaries Worry about lingering in the negatives by talking about it
	Helpful strategies for assisting friends	Asking for advice. Confiding in a teacher or a close family member they trust Checking in, recognizing that it is a continuous process with follow-up required
App functions and features
	Visual aspect of the app	Visual content: videos, cartoons, media, and songs A wall of text leads to disengagement
	Content	Understanding what is wrong with a friend leads to more confidence and comfort helping them Quick access to helplines Want suggestions on how and who to link their friend to for more support
	Functions of the app	Link to other apps should be simple and easy for within-app efficiency (copy and paste text or send via Messenger) Personalize and customize the visuals (colors) Checklist
	Engagement	A sense of achievement, reward, and competition from games is engaging Too many notifications can be annoying; no hassling to come back to the app but rather something that catches your attention Tone within the app should be engaging and empathetic
	User experience	Privacy is important: not showing activity to friends, not needing location, and being able to transparently see and control privacy Participants disagreed about inclusion of a social networking component
	Trust	Participants trusted lived experience, influencers, celebrities, and professionals (psychologists and researchers) Distrust in internet resources as they are nonspecific and outdated and may be wrong
	Dissemination	Social media is where participants learn about mental health initiatives Reduce stigma with influencers and athletes Participants were more likely to google a problem than search the app store; the website should link to the app