Pinterest has announced a range of new events and features for Mental Health Awareness Month, as it looks to play a role in addressing mental health concerns, which are evidently – based on on-platform search activity – increasingly front of mind for many Pinners.
As explained by Pinterest:
“The pandemic has brought mental health to the foreground. A recent survey conducted by the CDC found 42% of respondents reported anxiety or depression symptoms. We know that Pinners are 20% more likely than the rest of the population to have mental and emotional well-being top of mind during COVID-19, and beyond the pandemic these numbers are expected to increase.”
In an effort to address this, Pinterest is committing $10 million in funding over the next 12 months to mental health organizations, in order to advance innovation in the field, and boost available services. Pinterest says that it will specifically focus on funding organizations that are looking to tackle racial and other disparities in access.
“This is the first step in a multi-year philanthropic commitment to emotional well-being by Pinterest, with the intention of becoming one of the biggest funders of the issue in the United States.”
On Pinterest specifically, the platform is also adding new mental health related content to its Today Tab, which will be in addition to its existing mental health resources and tools, including its self-help, wellbeing exercises, which it launched in 2019.
These guided sessions are designed to provide immediate relief for those experiencing mental distress, and are available at any time – and Pinterest is now looking to add more to these tools to cater to rising demand.
Pinterest is also partnering with non-profit group #HalfTheStory to raise awareness of digital impacts and concerns related to mental health.
“#HalfTheStory celebrates hidden human talents, passions, beliefs, and struggles that connect us on a deeper level. Pinterest will donate ad credits to #HalfTheStory to encourage others to learn more about the organization, raise funds for its teen-focused curriculum Social Media U, and drive Pinners to useful resources, including how to manage screen time and how to empower safe advocacy online.”
And finally, Pinterest is also partnering with singer Bebe Rexha during Mental Health Awareness Month to further boost its awareness efforts.
Bebe Rexha will create exclusive Story Pins and other content to share more about her own mental health journey, and how that has inspired her most recent album, which will be released on May 7th.
Pinterest will also display a green logo on its social media profiles for the month of May, reflecting the official color of Mental Health Awareness Month.
Again, given the related search activity, this is a key area of focus for Pinterest, and it’s good to see the platform looking to provide mental health support to its 478 million users.
Pinterest says that, overall, searches for mental health awareness on the platform are up 2.5x year-on-year, with Pinners looking for help in a range of ways.
Specifically, Pinterest has reported that searches activity is significantly higher for:
- “mental health tattoos” (+13x)
- “mental well-being quotes” (+11x)
- “stress toys” (+9x)
- “yoga meditation space” (+8x)
People are also searching for terms like “mental health challenge” (+2.7x) and “mental health check in” (+2.7x) at much higher rates, while “meditation”, as a single term, is also now seeing more Pin search activity than ever.
Clearly, there are needs to be addressed here, with the pandemic taking a toll on everyone, in different ways.
For Pinners that need an extra hand, such initiatives could be crucial, and keeping this in focus is an important, and valuable, push from the platform.
