When I say this COVID-19 pandemic has been super tough on us, I am sure all of you are going to agree with a resounding ‘Yes!’! The uncertainty and fear in the air is making it very difficult for a lot of us to maintain our mental health and sanity. Given we spend so much of our time online, on social media, Instagram has come up with an interesting feature to support its community. To kick it off in India, they have partnered with actor and mental health ambassador, Deepika Padukone.
‘Guides’ from Instagram are a new way for people to discover curated, reliable content recommendations from people you follow and trust. Globally, Instagram is enabling public figures and creators to connect with expert organisations for this cause. In India, Deepika Padukone along with The Live Laugh Love Foundation have exclusively curated a ‘Wellness Guide’ on the platform as part of the ongoing global Mental Health Awareness month.
Talking about being a part of this initiative, she says:
I am sure we all agree that the past several weeks have not only been exceptionally unusual but also very difficult; uncertainty about the future, loss of livelihoods, and the inability to be around family and loved ones, are just a few of the challenges facing us. And situations such as these, often lead to or aggravate mental illness. I look forward to sharing with all of you some of the things I’ve been doing over the past several weeks to nurture my mental health, and I hope you find them useful too.
Talking about ‘Guides’, Ankhi Das, Director, Public Policy, Facebook – India, South and Central Asia explains:
At Instagram, we’re aware of the impact the pandemic is having on young people globally. We want to support their mental well-being by amplifying mental health resources and empowering creators to create inspiring, wellness related content. The Wellness Guide is a step in that direction and we couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with Deepika Padukone and her foundation, who’ve been playing a leading role in promoting consciousness and action on mental health.
To view the Wellness Guide, all you got to do is visit @DeepikaPadukone or The Live Laugh Love Foundation (@tlllfoundation) on Instagram. Then, tap the book icon next to the IGTV icon to view all the curated guides. If you click on it, you can see posts and videos that she has curated, paired with helpful tips and advice. You can also share a guide to your story or DM it to someone by tapping on the share button in the upper right corner. In the coming times, you’ll also be able to access guides within the Explore tab.
While everyone can view the Guide, creation currently has only been opened to a small group of wellness expert organisations, publishers and creators across the world. But, this is said to expand to additional focus areas in the future.
In the past couple of months, Instagram has launched the ‘Thank you hour’ and ‘Dhanyavad’ stickers to help you express gratitude towards those who’re helping you get through these times, new safety features to manage unwanted interactions and curating a series of ‘Live In Your Living Room’ consisting of Instagram Live music concerts to help bring people together.
We sure are super excited to witness all the amazing, curated content that is going to come our way in the coming times and can’t wait to see more from our fav, Deepika!