With a pandemic raging and social distancing the norm, we are all secluded from our family and friends trying to stave off boredom. So many of us turn to social media to stay connected, find out the latest information on the Coronavirus or COVID-19, and to keep ourselves occupied and from climbing the walls in our isolation. A quick scroll of Facebook is enough to stress anyone out–alarming headlines, political posts blaming and finger-pointing, misleading information that hasn’t been properly vetted, sales pitches for cure-alls for the disease, and alarmingly negative posts from fearful people. It makes you want to put down your phone, get into bed, and pull the covers over your head. But fear not, social network destination Pinterest is taking steps to protect you from that!
In 2017, Pinterest started restricting health-related content and searches, beginning with anti-vaccine information. Pinterest directed vaccine-related searches to pages with information from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention starting in August 2019. Then it expanded to other health topics over time.
When people go on to Pinterest and search for COVID-19 or Coronavirus, they are directed to a sparse page with content form the World Health Organization and get the following message “Pins about this topic often violate our Community Guidelines, which prohibit harmful medical misinformation. Because of this, we’ve limited searches to Pins from internationally-recognized health organizations.” Social media posts are rampant laughing about how Pinterest is shaming your mom for searching for homemade DIY surgical masks. A search for COVID-19 brought up a whole page of frequently asked questions like “Is it safe to receive a letter or package from China?” and “Are there any specific medicines to prevent or treat the new coronavirus?”, almost all provided by WHO.
All this means that Pinterest has become a safe haven from all the negative and misleading information about the COVID-19 virus and people are very happy about that! But Pinterest has gone even further! On Tuesday, they launched a new feature called Today tab which is refreshed daily to user-curated topics and trending posts. It offers advice from experts and health agencies, as well as timely posts like home workspaces and study tips for kids.
The Today Tab has Boards with titles like “TT-Pilates”, “TT-Baked Pasta”, “What to Watch”, “Toddler Art Projects”, “TT-Bedtime Yoga”, and “Jump Rope Workouts”. This is the mecca for everyone who needs some distractions from all the fear-mongering and finger-pointing. There is enough information to lose a couple of hours exploring fun activities, recipes, workouts, homework assignments, and crafts to do to make social isolation a lot more interesting and fun!
The microblogging platform is also a wonderful resource for self-care from everything from how to wash your hands to stave off disease to how to calm an anxiety attack. So if you’re feeling anxious, you can search for meditations to calm your anxiety and connect to your inner peace.
Are your kids restless and bored being cooped up at home? You can find DIY crafts and activities that will hold their attention and keep them occupied.
Or, if you’re trying to get your children on a schedule and don’t know where to start, there are plenty of homework assignments and homework trackers that you can print off from your home computer to keep your family on track.
If you are looking for activities and projects to use as homeschool lessons, Pinterest has a wealth of information for you. It has DIY science projects for every age to support the homework that schools sent home with your children.
With kids home from school, meal planning is a little bit tougher–Pinterest has got you covered there, too!
Pinterest also added a new “Compassionate Search” option on the website which prioritizes activities that help you relax with content from health authorities.
So take a break from all the scary news about COVID-19 and lose yourself in the wonderful world of Pinterest.
If you need help with your social media game and want to add Pinterest to your social media marketing, please call The AD Leaf ® Marketing Firm LLC at (321) 255-0900. We would love to show you how to increase your online presence and market your products to your clients via social media!
