I've complained before about Pinterest- the virtual cork board of ideas, crafts, dreams, desires, fitness, recipes, and greed.
I have a Pinterest account that I rarely "pin" to. And yes, I look at Pinterest when I'm bored and am looking for an easy way to kill 2-3 hours.
I feel that Pinterest doesn't allow a user to be content with who, what, where, and even when they are. Every pin is a way to improve yourself- whether it be your mind or your body (let's face.. it's more about the body, because heaven forbid we allow ourselves to be different sizes and shapes that don't fit the celebrity norm), or a new item to get (the latest in exercise fitness, the next best dress or style, new fashion, shoes, even nail art- seriously, who invented nail art, and why?), and if you can't afford to buy it, because most of the heavily repinned items on Pinterest are fancy-schmancy brands that will cost you a second mortgage on your home, Pinterest tells you how to make it! Thank goodness for Pinterest! Right? Well, no. And if you're not finding new things to buy (or make), you're fantasizing about the next place you want to visit- "The 33 Most Beautiful Beaches You Just HAVE to See Before You Die!" (I love traveling, but I don't plan vacation B before vacation A has arrived, typically.) And when you're not being bombarded with girls with perfect hair, makeup, nails, and clothes, or the next exercise that's guaranteed to help you burn one billion calories in 10 minutes, and pictures of places you'll never get to see, you're being bombarded with ways to make the NEXT holiday the best holiday party EVER.
This year (well, last year), in the months leading up to Christmas, everything on Pinterest was red and green Christmas decorations. The tiny minutiae of each corner of each room in your house must be filled from carpet-to-ceiling with the perfect decorations for your holiday guests. I'm all about tidying up my house for guests, but I'm not about to spend boatloads of time and money on crafts for every square foot of my house. But what bothered me what that after several weeks -nay- months of Christmas pins, when I wrongly decided to check Pinterest while watching TV on Christmas Eve, to my surprise, all the pins were replaced with Valentine's Day! What? Christmas- arguably one of the two most important of the yearly holidays hasn't even ended and it's already been replaced with the Valentines that the Perfect Mom must spend hours laboring over to send her child to school with to hand out to the other kids, who will most likely sneeze on it and leave it on the ground. (Side note- for Valentine's Day, the most I ever did was hand out the perforated Valentine's Day cards that came in packs of 40. Usually animal- or TMNT-themed.) Why does anyone need to spend time on something like that?
But what makes me the most sad, of all of these things that Pinterest bombards you with, is nearly every single girl's Wedding pin board (AKA "One Day.."). I'm honestly so happy that Pinterest wasn't a big thing until after my wedding.
I know a specific couple who got married earlier this year. They had a huge 18-person-not-including-the-bride-and-groom-wedding-party wedding, complete with the tiny details and all the DIY stuff and Pinterest-perfect engagement ring, dress, shoes, decorations, color palette, and photos.
They've gotten divorced and are now both seeing other people.
It worries me and saddens me that it seems people are getting married in order to have the Perfect Pinterest Wedding, instead of having a wedding to work at having the Perfect Biblical Marriage.
I think we, as a society, need to rethink our priorities.
*Note: I do not judge those who pin a lot. Without them, I wouldn't have anything to peruse through while waiting at the doctor's office. I don't judge those who use Pinterest to find healthy recipes (heck, or those cake recipes that look uh-may-zing) or new exercise programs. I don't judge those who try and try to get the perfect Pinterest hair- I've done it, succeeded once or twice, and loved that rewarding feeling. I don't judge those who decorate every inch of their homes for holidays, and I certainly don't judge those moms who make their kids' Valentines- more power to you! I don't judge those who have beautiful, DIY Pinterest Perfect weddings- but I do want the weddings to take place for the right reason.
