Posts with depressive thoughts outnumber those with positive coping strategies on Pinterest.
A recent study completed as a joint project between the University of Georgia and Virginia Commonwealth University found that although many Pinterest users use the site to display their depressed thoughts and feelings, few are sharing effective coping strategies.
"We found that when depression is being communicated or portrayed on Pinterest via images or text, there is a lack of more proactive coping approaches also being portrayed on Pinterest," said co-author Yan Jin, an associate professor of public relations in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and associate director of the Center for Health and Risk Communication.
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The research team analyzed 783 Pinterest posts, and categorized them based on their level of depression. These included everything from dark poetry to depressing messages suggesting dark moods. Some posts even openly talked about suicidal thoughts or included images of a person harming him or herself. However, pins with coping strategies were few and far between.
"Conversations on social media platforms, especially ones like Pinterest, can provide insight in how both depression sufferers and others engage in conversation about this disorder outside of a formal health care setting," said study co-author Jeanine Guidry, a doctoral student in the department of social behavioral sciences at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Jin’s team has been looking at depression in social media for a number of years, but they chose to concentrate this study on Pinterest because of its visual nature.
These images can be used to vent or share emotions, which can be considered a coping mechanism. However, they are not adequate in most cases if a medical professional’s help and advice is missing.
Instead of discouraging users from using Pinterest as a way to express their depression, perhaps it is simply a matter of getting more experts in on the conversation. "This is a great opportunity for health professionals and health public relations professionals to engage in and put in more effective messages out there on this platform," Jin said, "involving such things as health tips on how to deal with depression or providing the right coping mechanism to facilitate more positive discussions in this community."
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