Sunday, 10th October celebrates World Mental Health Day. Marking the celebration, Pinterest would also be launching ‘An Anti-Burnout Oasis’, by virtue of its new project known as ‘Pinterest Havens: Invest In Rest’. Sounds like a slogan for a premium parlor and spa owned and ran wholly by Pinterest; now who wouldn’t want that?

Kidding aside (well, maybe not entirely), ‘Pinterest Havens’ isn’t a wellness center or the name of a care home for aged artists, but rather a new Pinterest board designed to aid users in exploring the relationship between mental health and rest.

As Pinterest explains:

“The Haven includes a collection of Idea Pins about rest from Creators around the world, from gratitude journal prompts to bedtime affirmations, to tips for a mental reboot. Pinterest is inviting people – the ad industry included – to dive in and take some time for themselves to honor World Mental Health Day.”

From their explanation, and if you mosey on down here, you’ll see that ‘Pinterest Havens’ is about providing tips and suggestions on how Pinners (and people in general) could take a brief moment out of their day to relax and take a break. The boards even go as far as to suggest several inclusions to one’s daily routine that can help facilitate healthier mental activity. Rather timely, considering the massive toll COVID-19 is placing on everyone’s mental integrity. Pinterest alone has detected that throughout 2021, on average, the platform has seen an increase of up to 1200% for searches relating to distressing or mental health relief.

Massive Response From A Smaller Player

Whilst most other platforms focused on reorienting their approach to accommodate erratic fluctuations from the economy, caused by the pandemic, Pinterest chose to focus on combating one of the largest concerns this monumental event brought with it — the immeasurable waves of adverse effects it spelled for mental health.

People were forced to stay indoors, away from the usual company of friends and loved ones. “Social Distancing” was enforced and people who relied on closely-knit circles and proximal relationships were forced into isolation. This comprehensive study, conducted just shy of the onset of the 2020 outbreak, sampled nearly 400,000 respondents from around the world and noted a prevalence of serious mental health issues, with depression and anxiety topping the charts at 28% and 26.9% respectively.

Taking their response a step beyond, Pinterest is now also looking to realize its Haven Initiative, which looks to bring the idea of providing a “safe place” in real life.

“Located within Boxville on Chicago’s South Side, “Havens: Invest in Rest”, is a site-specific installation curated by local artist Dwight White dedicated to bringing the anti-burnout oasis to life through real-life Pins and community programming.”

Additionally, Pinterest looks to donate $80,000 to three Chicago organizations that are dedicated to supporting the local community as part of their ‘Broader Wellbeing Funding Commitment’.

The Wrap

Pinterest has been keen to help as many people as it can in their struggle with mental health issues; a reality not made any easier by present conditions. The Havens Initiative is among the many efforts that the platform is enacting to provide much-needed mental health assistance. Another notable program it has is its Self-Care Program.

Regardless of what lens you use to view social media and the associated platforms, while you can take away the ‘media’ factor, you will never be able to take away the ‘social’ one. As we’ve recently gleaned from one of the reports from the Facebook Files Expose, mental health plays a crucial role in the nurturing of identity and can build substantial barriers towards relationships.

Business-wise, is this big news? Face value may not seem like it, but in actuality it is. Businesses will need their consumers in good condition to be able to transact. Having good mental health is kinda paramount in that regard.

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Sources

https://bit.ly/2YsucvE