Daily Imperfection: Pinterest

I've been meaning to blog about Pinterest for quite a while. Pinterest has exploded this year with everyone I know, myself included. To say I am a little addicted to Pinterest is quite the understatement. I've gotten plenty of great ideas from Pinterest, and I love that ideas on Pinterest are always changing. Sure, Pinterest is just all fun and games, but how does it affect how you think and view the world? Like my recent post about lies we believe, I know Pinterest is just another avenue to get people unhappy with what they actually have, desiring what they can't have, and becoming utterly disappointed and unfulfilled. Sound harsh? Take a look below.

8 Problems with Pinterest 

1. Pinterest can con you into believing you need crafts, things, or stuff for fulfillment

How many times do you log onto Pinterest and feel good about yourself because you just pinned five new crafts or two new sweaters you want? By pinning things to do or get (and too much of it at that), you take ownership of that thing, letting it give you a sense of fulfillment. There isn't anything wrong with being fulfilled by having purpose, but what are you letting fulfill you? Completely unrealistic things or things that are of good character?

2. Planning the perfect wedding... with no groom in sight

I get it. If I hadn't just gotten married myself, I would have done the same thing. But why are so many people pinning stuff for a wedding that is no where close to taking place? It is fun to dream, and society has taught women to dream of their wedding day for years before it even comes. But I feel that pinning dresses you like on your "Future wedding" board is a step down a dangerous path. Do you really feel like you're going come back to that Pinterest board when you are engaged maybe years later and look at all those pins? Is it really of use or is it just for dreaming and idealizing? Pinning wedding stuff now only sets your expectations for your wedding and your future groom even higher than they should be. Yeah, us girls usually have some ideas of our perfect wedding in our head, but when your man does come along, do you think it would freak him out to see your "future wedding board" and what it entails? Probably. Overall, it's unrealistic to pin the fanciest wedding garb, unless you really are going to use those ideas.


3. Planning the perfect wardrobe that you can never have. Ever

Yes, another thing all girls dream about is the perfect closet, if there ever was one, filled with all the best clothes, tons of shoes, and bags. Okay, there are a lot of great outfit inspiration pins out there - ones that a normal person would wear. But there are also a ton of really unrealistic style options on Pinterest. Whole boards of designer handbags, Christian Louboutins, and evening gowns? Do you mind telling me when you're going to buy that and then wear it??? As I said before, I get the whole dreaming concept. But coveting after outfits that are not only totally unrealistic for every day wear (unless you're a Disney Princess) and totally out of the normal population's price range is just dangerous for your mental health. I see it as damaging because the things being pinned are unattainable. This kind of activity is just one way to set yourself up for disappointment and become dissatisfied with your own things.

5. I can eat dessert every day! Not

Okay, I love dessert, but when I see someone pin twenty cupcake recipes, I start to think to myself that it's okay to not only have cupcakes a lot, but to make them a lot. Since joining Pinterest, my interest in making sweets at home (cookies, bread, cupcakes, donuts) has increased a lot! I never used to be intrigued by dessert so much until I saw the delicious array of tasty pins lurking in the "Food & drink" section of Pinterest. No, I don't regret some of the things I've made, but if it weren't for Pinterest, I wouldn't have made it. I can see this becoming a more dangerous influence if I let it. It starts to become really scary to me when I see people who have boards dedicated only to a certain type of dessert, like a "Cake" board. If you need different boards for all your desserts, I think you may be pinning too many sweets!

6. Misleading Pins

The other day I stumbled across some frappuccino knock-off drink pin. The caption read that the drink was "only 64 calories!" And yet, when you clicked on the link to see the recipe, you could see it was a 450 calorie drink... Some other misleading pins are ones that only lead you to a picture, but not the actual how-to guide.

7. Useless Pins

Useless pins, i.e. pins that are not ideas, crafts, or even cool to look at, like Some Ecards. Do you really need to pin every thing that makes you laugh on the internet? I've stopped following anything that is about humor because a lot of the time it's offensive, but it also takes my time away from pins that actually mean something, like a craft or how-to guide.

8. Thinspiration 

I love fitness inspiration quotes that are appropriate and healthy, but coveting after unrealistic Photoshopped bodies of models is NOT healthy. Ever. Sorry! I'm so dreadfully tired of seeing pins about having "a body like that." Guess what? You will never have a body like that because you have your own body. It may not be perfect, but please, stop wishing for something you truly can never have! I also can't stand seeing pins of women in really skimpy bikinis. It just goes along with everything else about Pinterest that bugs me. Why do people dangle what is not theirs right in front of themselves?

To Pin or not to Pin

Well, this post turned out a little more cranky than I anticipated! Don't get me wrong, Pinterest has it's place. It's a useful tool when not abused. It's great for new ideas and spicing up your life. I love Pinterest for organizational ideas, crafts, style inspiration, and recipes. I do not love that Pinterest has inspired tons of women to plan for what they don't have, covet what they can't have, and basically long for the whole world in a really selfish and needy kind of way. Pinterest may seem like a harmless tool for you, but it's no different than TV or magazines. Pinterest is media too. TV and magazines have become a really negative influence in my opinion, and that's why I limit myself to very small amounts of both. I actually don't own a TV, by choice, because of the bad influence and time waster that it is. Anyway, I see Pinterest creating the same problems in women that other media does as well - making them believe that they are not good enough the way they are, and believe that they need more things, a bigger house, nicer hair, a nicer body, etc. With that said, I'm not going to stop using Pinterest by any means. I'm just going to try to be more intentional with what influences I let in to my Pinterest newsfeed and be more intentional with what I let myself look at and actually pin.

What do you think? Does Pinterest ever seem annoying or like a negative thing in your life?