The Power of Pinterest
A pinch of my pins.
When I was in elementary school, I begged my mom to let me download Instagram. It seemed like all the (far too young) kids around me had it, and I wanted to fit in.
So, my (smart) mom suggested Pinterest instead. At the time, I saw Pinterest as the lamer version of Instagram. I couldn’t post what I was doing, and I couldn’t see what my friends were doing. I felt completely removed from the world of coolness and comparison.
How awesome, right?
If only I could go back and appreciate the incomparable, impermeable bubble of Pinterest.
Of course, my mom was right. Pinterest was the cooler version of Instagram – my impressionable, easily influenced elementary mind just didn’t get the memo.
As I’ve grown to love going to bed early and waking up with the sun, thrifting instead of the mall, my natural hair color, and a matching mani-pedi, my developing frontal lobe has chosen to fill my screen time creating boards instead of scrolling endlessly through reels. While I do not frown upon those whose frontal lobe prefers hobbies and apps different from mine, I have grown to appreciate the quiet intimacy of Pinterest – the calm amidst the chaos.
For those unfamiliar, Pinterest is a personal puzzle, created with boards that you curate specific to your interests, intentions, and ideas. By scrolling through the home page, finding creators you like, or exploring suggestions the app gives you, Pinterest users can personify their dreams and desires through their boards.
Don’t get me wrong, Instagram is a platform that can be appreciated for many reasons. Humans want nothing more than to communicate and connect, and Instagram gives us that. An outlet for small businesses, a creative portfolio, a digital diary – Instagram is not going anywhere anytime soon.
But too much of a good thing can be bad. With the uncontrollable amount of content and communication that gets released on Instagram every day follows comparison and competition.
According to a 2021 Forbes article, social media apps like Instagram increase the risk of developing an eating disorder, and “likes” create a relationship with your brain’s reward center. This use directly correlates to depression, lower self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, appearance anxiety, and body dissatisfaction.
The wholesome attitude of Pinterest carries the app – followers don’t matter, what you pin doesn’t matter, what other people pin doesn’t matter, all that matters is what you make of the app. Creativity is limitless. From planning your future wedding to gathering quotes that make it easier to get out of bed in the morning, Pinterest can create anything for anyone. Comparison fails to control because Pinterest shows you that you can be what you see…if anything you already are. The boards you create motivate you to become everything you want to be.
Pinterest caters to your interests and doesn’t focus on society’s idea of perfection – it focuses on yours. What clothes you like, what foods you want to make, personal poetry and prose, places to travel, the list goes on.
Instagram personifies a specific toxicity that seeps into our manipulated minds. Pinterest celebrates individuality and brings creators together by showing us how different we all are in our own unique ways.
While no app is perfect and all branches of social media can plant toxic seeds, Pinterest ensures you’re in charge of your own growth, all of which is completely and uniquely you.
