Chances are Pinterest is an app that you may be overlooking when it comes to benefiting your business. Pinterest says it differentiates itself from other social media platforms by providing a “more positive, beneficial experience” online, in contrast to its competitors who are often seen to facilitate addictive, compulsive and unhealthy behaviors.
In a new study with UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Pinterest says that daily interaction with inspiring content in the app helped Gen Z college students to buffer against burnout and stress, ‘even when they were studying for stressful college exams’.
In the study, Pinterest had participants either use Pinterest OR solve online puzzles for for 10 minutes per day for a duration of two weeks.The study aimed to analyze the benefits of using Pinterest compared to other neutral activities.
“…In students assigned to the Pinterest condition, we found that just 10 minutes a day seeking out inspiration buffered against the rising burnout, stress and social disconnectedness we could see in their vagal tone data. This had consequences for emotional wellbeing, physical health and social connectedness.”
The study also found that engaging with inspiring content like that found on Pinterest ‘mitigated the consequences of physical stress on people’s daily positive emotion, preserving their capacity for feeling good’.
“We also found that higher levels of inspiration make it easier to relax. This higher level of relaxation was uniquely “unlocked” by seeking inspiration on Pinterest, and was not true of the control condition.”
Pinterest has also outlined how its efforts on this front have varied from other platforms, pushing what seems to be Pinterest’s edge – content that promotes pleasant and positive experiences and interactions as opposed to the typical rhetoric of optimizing for raw engagement.
“Over the last decade, we’ve made deliberate choices to engineer a more positive place online. For example, our algorithm prioritizes explicit signals from people who use Pinterest: more conscious, active engagements, like “saving” an idea. We use those active signals to determine what you see first on Pinterest.”
Pinterest isn’t wrong when it comes to this: social platforms should be more intentional about the content they rank, and more realistic about the effects it can cause.
“Ranking for views can certainly promote some great, entertaining content, but unfortunately it’s just as good at surfacing divisive and polarizing content that keeps people hooked. If we are going to curb the crisis that social media has created, the only option is to tell AI to do something different.”
Pinterest also highlights its policies to protect teens, its inclusive features and other elements designed to make it a more welcoming, positive social media space.
You can read the full study here, and Pinterest’s overview here.
