Pinterest Offers Soothing Activities for Stressed Users
July 31, 2019
Pinterest does send email about “pins that might interest you.” Distressed? Well, that’s different.
A remarkable new feature at Pinterest aims to help distressed users, Geek.com reports in, “New Pinterest Tools Help Calm Anxiety, Reduce Stress.” The soothing activities are accessed by searching for phrases like “stress quotes,” “work anxiety,” or related terms. They will even keep these searches private—a rare mercy these days. Writer Stephanie Mlot reports:
“But don’t expect the usual litany of colorful thumbnails and interspersed ads. These new resources look different from the rest of Pinterest—‘because the experience is kept separate,’ according to product manager Annie Ta. ‘People’s interactions with these activities are private and not connected to their account,’ she explained in a blog announcement. ‘This means we won’t show recommendations or ads based on their use of these resources.’
We noted this “do not track” comment too:
“Pinterest also does not track who uses them; all activity is stored anonymously using a third-party service. And, as always, if someone searches for self-harm-related content, they will be directed to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline—just two taps away.”
Ta stressed these tools were developed in response to a startling statistic—the Centers for Disease Control reports that more than half of Americans will be diagnosed with a mental disorder or illness at one time or another. The folks at Pinterest also noticed millions of emotional-health-related searches coming across their platform. Though these activities do not take the place of professional care, Pinterest hopes they will help their users cope with distress in their lives.
Cynthia Murrell, July 31, 2019
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