Portrayals of depression on Pinterest and why public relations practitioners should care

•We studied 800 depression-focused Pinterest posts in a quantitative content analysis.•Depression-themed pins elicited high response levels for repins, likes, and comments.•Dysfunctional coping strategy was found more often than other coping strategies.•About 10% of all pins refer to thoughts of suicide.•PR professionals should engage in depression-focused social media communication.

Using a quantitative content analysis, this study focused on how depression has been portrayed and communicated on Pinterest. Key findings include: Depression-focused pins elicited high response levels for repins, likes, and comments, and more than half of the pins expressed perception of depression as a severe disorder. Various coping mechanisms were present in the pins, with the dysfunctional coping strategy most prevalent. Implications for practitioners on how to utilize visual media platforms to effectively engage at-risk publics on health issues were discussed.