The ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has dragged along a myriad of struggles with it. Due to excessive but necessary precautions drawn up by the government, citizens find themselves locked up indoors, unable to do simple things like go to work or school.
Technology has come so far that we have found virtual alternatives to fill in our needs for work, school and entertainment, with the various communications platforms available on the World Wide Web today. Truly, we have surpassed ourselves, finding a” stay-at-home” option for every activity. However, one thing remains unaccounted for: mental health of the people.
Earlier, we would find ourselves socializing freely with friends, family and co-workers; be it at a work meeting, a shopping mall, or even stuck in a traffic jam. Now, with the current situation confining us to our homes, even the most introverted person is left longing for a company to kill time. While social media may keep us in touch with friends and colleagues, studies have shown that human interaction is a great booster for mental welfare.
Drawing from this need to uplift spirits, social media giant Snapchat has rolled out one of its first new Mini applications, with tools from meditation app Headspace as part of an initiative to “to help support the mental health and emotional wellbeing of Snapchatters,” said the company spokesperson.
The collaboration with Headspace is to give Snapchat users access to “expert resources related to emotional and physical well-being while offering daily meditations and tools to help Snapchatters check-in with their friends and stay healthy”. By infusing meditation and mindfulness exercises into a platform where people already meet and share, Snapchat hopes to create an enriched experience for their users, helping them use the platform as a safe space to cleanse their own mind as well as positively uplift their friends’ spirits.
Aiming to ease burdened minds with the help of this in-app meditation, Snapchat has equipped users with new tools to send encouraging messages to friends in need, while they simultaneously dissolve their own stress.
The Minis are miniature apps made by third-party developers that run within Snapchat. The apps are built using HTML 5 and aim to enhance and expand the user’s experience within the Snapchat app.
Four of the seven Minis have already been released. These include Headspace, Flashcards (a studying collaboration tool), Prediction Master (an interactive messaging experience) and Let’s Do It (A Snapchat developed mini-app which allows users to make decisions with their friends)
Mini apps by Coachella (helps users plan their festival trips), Atom (ticket booking app) and Saturn (allows students to compare class schedules) are yet to go live.
Snapchat-Headspace mini-app with meditation feature video:
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