It’s official – the hot girls are using Pinterest.
Megan Thee Stallion sat down for a panel during Social Media Week and revealed that the image curation site is actually one of her favorite apps. She said she decided to delete Twitter (now called X) and Instagram from her phone, leaving Pinterest and TikTok as two of her favorite social apps.
This news isn’t surprising when you consider that Pinterest is having a moment. The social app had almost 500 million monthly active users as of Q4 2023, an 11% year-over-year increase, with total revenue hitting $3 billion, according to its latest quarterly earnings report. Pinterest is also making strides to stay relevant with Generation Z – it has the Creator Inclusion Fund and has implemented new technology to help with inclusive search on the site. As of last summer, around 40% of Pinterest’s global monthly active users are part of Generation Z, the company told us.
On the panel, Megan Thee Stallion said she loved the app because it allows her to curate exactly what she wants to see and listed topics ranging from puppies to makeup and workout videos. Almost 11,000 people liked the video, with users flooding the comments with comments about how Pinterest is also their favorite app.
“Megan Thee Stallion talking about her favorite app being Pinterest during ADWeek’s Social Media Week event.”
– Stallion Stats (@MegansStats) April 10, 2024
Megan Thee Stallion did not respond to TechCrunch‘s request for comment.
It’s interesting to see because Pinterest can feel underrated or underspoken about.
That’s mainly because the conversation around social media apps often focuses on doom and gloom, while Pinterest has managed to mostly escape those mainstream discussions. When tech CEOs were hauled in to testify before Congress, Pinterest was absent. Despite a high-profile controversy around the app’s lack of teen safety features, the company addressed it with new controls and the news cycle moved on to other topics.
To some extent, Pinterest’s draw may be from how users can curate their own experiences. They don’t have to interact with random strangers, as on Twitter/X, and can avoid contact with communities they do not want to interact with. There is also a feeling of having more control in teaching the algorithm to show exactly what is wanted by activities like pinning and creating boards.
“We think it’s possible to have a social platform that enhances your life – instead of distracting you from it. That brings out your best instincts – instead of preying on your worst,” Pinterest’s Chief Content Officer Malik Ducard told us. “Pinterest is designed to be a positive place where people can figure out who they actually are – away from the everyday stress of news and online comparison and commentary.”
Pinterest told us it had seen a 40% year-over-year increase in Gen Zers using the site to search for celebs, which lends itself to the theory that young people are using alternatives to Google platforms for the content they are looking for. Gen Zers are also more likely to use TikTok for search inquiries rather than a traditional search engine.
Megan Thee Stallion has a vested interest in Pinterest, having previously worked with the company. She participated in the Pinterest Creators Festival in 2021 and had a Pinterest board with singer Renee Rapp to promote their latest song together, which, unsurprisingly, name-dropped Pinterest. Pinterest has been using board drops to work more with creatives and give users a behind-the-scenes look at what inspires many of their favorite artists. Big names also use it in a personal capacity, too.
Rapper 50 Cent revealed that he’s on Pinterest to find inspiration, while actress Rachel Zegler recently spoke about her love of the social platform, and Sophia Richie Grangie spoke to Vogue about launching private boards to help plan her wedding. For the most part, though, even celebrities, many of whom are loud on X and Instagram, are usually quiet about their lives on Pinterest. It’s true many of them have brand profiles, but it’s likely they also have their own private accounts, like Megan Thee Stallion insinuated during her panel.
As it stands, the site remains one of the last remaining quiet places on the internet – somewhere to have aspirational mood boards without pressure to prove anything to anyone. It makes sense that in an era of online hate and oversaturation, people would escape to a more peaceful corner of the internet to dream once more.
While Megan’s comments didn’t quite move the markets like other celebs’ comments about social apps have in the past, Pinterest’s stock was indeed up this morning. It seems all the hot girls are trading Pinterest, too.
