Snapchat this week introduced new in-app support for users struggling with mental or emotional health.
Here For You provides “safety resources” from local experts when Snapchatters search for sensitive topics like anxiety, depression, grief, suicide, and bullying.
Type in “thinspo” (pro-anorexia promotion), for instance, and Snap will intervene with content curated by eating-disorder specialists. Media appears in recognizable, easily digestible 10-second clips; users can tap through to learn more.
The function is also open to anyone who “may be curious to learn more about these issues” and how to help friends dealing with them.
“Sometimes people come in and search for this kind of content, be it anxiety or depression,” Jen Stout, vice president of global policy at Snap, told Fast Company.
“Instead of being served up maybe nothing, or meme accounts,” she explained, “we’re looking for a healthy alternative to provide young people with tools that would be readily available in the app.”
In honor of Safer Internet Day (Tuesday, Feb. 11), the social network unveiled “several resources”: including creative tools and lenses that promote safety and privacy, as well as new filters and the first ever Snappable quiz.
“Snapchat was built with privacy at its core—starting with ephemerality—and designed to let people be themselves, without the pressure of being judged by others,” the social network wrote in a blog announcement.
Keep an eye out for these new features, rolling out to all users “in the coming months.”
Snap is not the first social media service to turn its focus toward mental health.
Instagram launched its own crusade last year when it began cracking down on posts about diet products and cosmetic surgery. Among other improvements, the platform makes it easy to hide likes or block bullies, and guilts users out of writing offensive comments and captions.
And Facebook in October released new “Let’s Talk” filters and stickers for Stories and Messenger, encouraging people to open up about mental health.
Pinterest’s new “well-being activities,” meanwhile, aim to calm anxiety and reduce stress.
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