Beekman 1802, Kindness.org & Traackr uncover the scientific link between Mental Health and Kindness on Digital Platforms

SHARON SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Gen Z is looking at influencers' values as much as they are looking at their product recommendations; in fact, over 60% feel that influencers' posts have some impact on the decisions made in their everyday lives. Influencers' values, including kindness, are essential; 61% said they would stop following an influencer if they said or did something that conflicted with their values. 

Pierre-Loïc Assayag, Co-founder & CEO of Traackr says, "As a longstanding leader in the influencer marketing space, we've watched the industry grow rapidly in size and impact. However, there have often been limited insights on how this industry can affect creator and consumer mental health and well-being. This is why we're excited to share this first-of-its-kind report on kindness in the creator space, alongside our partners Beekman 1802 and kindness.org."

In collaboration with Beekman 1802, the leading goat milk skincare brand rooted in Kindness, and Traackr, an influencer marketing platform to access creator insights, kindness.org, a nonprofit that educates and inspires people to choose kindness, executed a groundbreaking study on the role kindness plays in the social sphere among beauty influencers, demonstrating how they contribute to and take on the responsibility of the mental health of their followers. 

According to Dr. Brent Ridge, Co-founder & Chief Kindness Officer of Beekman 1802, "Social media is a dominant part of our daily lives. As a company that believes Kindness is a preventative health measure, we want to ensure that the content we put out and promote on social platforms contributes positively to the well-being of all those who may see it."

The findings reveal that beauty influencers see that the beauty industry's social content is largely unfriendly to mental health. However, they recognize that their content does influence the mental health of their followers, and kinder influencers are more successful in terms of having more followers. 

In addition, the study measured the connection between beauty influencers, social media, and kindness, revealing that influencers who exhibit kindness by scoring higher in the personality trait of agreeableness had a higher number of followers across social media channels.

Results show: 

Only 37% of beauty influencers felt that social content in the beauty industry overall was positively impacting the mental health of young people.
However, 78% of beauty influencers recognize that their content influences the mental health of their followers. 

Influencers with a more agreeable personality were found to correlate with higher follower/subscriber count. Agreeable people are more kind, compassionate, respectful, compromising, cooperative, and trusting of others. 

Jaclyn Lindsey, Co-founder & CEO of kindness.org, says, "We at kindness.org are focused on answering meaningful questions about kindness and its role in our everyday lives to create measurable change toward a kinder world. By looking at the relationship kindness and influencers have on content and well-being, we are starting an important conversation that sets the stage for the future of influencers and the relationship with their followers."

As the leader in the science of Kindness, Beekman 1802 will leverage this study to further make a positive impact in the social sphere within the beauty industry. The research findings will be leveraged to proactively recruit brand ambassadors with higher kindness scores into their community, Kindness Krew. 

"I feel that the younger generation already has a hard time loving themselves so when they see content with filters, or "perfect beauty" it can negatively impact their mental health," says Jessica Garcia of @beauty.is.everyone, New Member of Beekman 1802's Kindness Krew.