In honor of the start of Mental Health Awareness month, makeup brand Maybelline partnered with Pinterest to roll out a behavioral health campaign to empower young people.

Maybelline’s Brave Together effort seeks to help young people find unique, creative channels to manage their mental health.

The campaign was informed in part by a report released earlier this year by Pinterest, which examined trending searches on the social media platform to determine what mental health topics are particularly top of mind for Gen Z and millennial users. 

The report indicated that certain talk therapy alternatives – from journaling to musical therapy – are on the rise among this cohort.

Additionally, the study found that searches related to writing therapy (like journaling) had increased by 1,840%, while expressive art therapy activities rose by 120%. Meanwhile, music therapy, journal writing prompts therapy and art journal therapy were all searches that also saw an increase. 

The report concluded that as mental health has become a larger part of the national conversation, more and more people – driven by the openness of younger generations – are seeking behavioral services outside of just talk therapy.

“Maybelline has always believed in the power of making things happen in your life,” Trisha Ayyagari, global brand president of Maybelline New York, said in a statement. “We know that mental health is critical in feeling ready to do that. As part of our Brave Together initiative, we’re thrilled to be partnering with Pinterest to highlight the different ways that younger audiences are finding healthy and creative ways to navigate anxiety and depression.”

The partnership also introduces a Creator Editorial Spotlight on Pinterest, featuring content creator Isabelle Dias, who has more than 70,000 followers and nearly two million monthly views on her profile. In this aspect of the partnership, Dias will be discussing issues like emotional well-being on the platform.

“I’m proud to be working with Pinterest and Maybelline to inspire others through simple self-improvement tips, from wellness ideas that fit into our busy schedules to personal development tips for women,” Dias said in a statement.

Pinterest is rolling out the initiative with Maybelline as social media platforms have come under further scrutiny due to their links to the rising rates of anxiety and depression among young people.

In January, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said that 13-year-olds were too young to be using social media, given its harmful mental health effects. 

Studies have also found that people seek to cut down on their Instagram time to preserve their mental health. In response to external criticisms, TikTok recently implemented a default time limit for kids under the age of 18, to help young people step away from screen time.

Even Pinterest referenced “doomscrolling” in an ad campaign from last fall that aimed to tackle the negative effects of social media on mental health.

Still, Pinterest’s latest campaign and partnership with Maybelline is part of the company’s efforts to mold its platform into a “safe space” for mental health.

In research conducted with UC Berkeley’s Greater Good Science Center, Pinterest claimed that daily interactions with “inspiring content” was actually beneficial for Gen Z college students to prevent burnout and stress. In short, tailoring certain social media feeds to focus on creative outlets or inspiration may help counteract its more negative effects.

For an April 2024 article on digital creator Chrissy Rutherford using social media to normalize anxiety, click here.