Pinterest: New Program That Aims to Improve Safety Elements for Young Users

Recently, Pinterest has announced that it’s collaborating with the Boston Children’s Hospital to join a new ‘Inspired Internet Pledge’, which will see Pinterest, and other tech companies, commit to various measures designed to better protect young users that use their apps.

The Inspired Internet Pledge is a commitment by tech companies and the broader digital ecosystem to unite with the common goal of making the Internet a safer and healthier place for everyone, especially young people. The Inspired Internet Pledge is designed to address negative mental health impacts stemming from social media use.

According to Pinterest:

“Around the world teens are experiencing a mental health crisis and the role social media platforms play is being closely examined. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), youth mental health has continued to worsen, with large increases in widespread reports of harmful experiences among teen girls. Nearly 3 in 5 US teen girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021, representing a ~60% increase and the highest level reported over the past decade.”

Thus, while there are counter studies that also highlight the positives of social media connection, the prevailing weight of evidence suggests that social media usage can lead to negative behaviors, such as harmful comparison, bullying, and exposure to disturbing content. Additionally, the inspired Internet Pledge wants to call on social media platforms, and other web-based businesses, to unite with the common goal of ‘making the internet a safer and healthier place for everyone and especially for young people’.

“Each signatory will create its own supplementary addendum to the pledge that describes the specific actions it will take to implement the pledge principles in ways relevant to the realities of their platform. These company addendums will be managed by the Digital Wellness Lab and made public to hold signatories accountable to their commitments.”

This is a new step for the platform. Pinterest wants to make its platform a more positive space for everyone and especially for young users. Pinterest has increased its consideration for inclusivity, support, and wellness.

Pinterest is giving its focus on new product discovery, also Pinterest is likely less impacted by these elements than other platforms, but it does have a big focus on beauty and fashion, which can also contribute to negative comparison and perceptual concerns for confidence towards young and older users. However, this is a very important step for social media platforms. It’s great to see Pinterest willing to put its reputation on the line, by making a public commitment to more positive interactions.

You can learn more about The Inspired Internet Pledge here: https://bit.ly/3NFlKQM

Source: Social Media Today – https://www.socialmediatoday.com/

Find more information here: http://bit.ly/2BPQn38

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