Why Women Are Obsessed with Pinterest
"Men are more visual than women." It's a refrain we've all heard to explain the differences between men's and women's sexuality. If you want proof of the contrary, look no further than Pinterest.
What is Pinterest? TechCrunch describes it as a "self-expression engine" along the lines of Twitter and Facebook. Users can create virtual "mood boards" or "vision boards" on which they can collect images. Users can create separate boards for any kind of interest—fashion, art, books, decor, crafts, recipes, workout ideas, inspirational quotes—and "pin" to those boards images that reflect their style and tastes. Users can share these curated collections with friends or inspired strangers. The community is a large part of the draw—users can browse and search the entire network, which now includes over 1.5 million actives users (the majority of whom are women).
I am one of them. I first heard of the site a few months ago. A friend insisted I had to join and rapturously boasted she'd "wasted so many hours" poring over pages of pins (she assured me this was a good thing, and after a few minutes on the site I would realize she was right on both counts). I now have six different boards to which I regularly post. They're mostly of clothes I can't afford but like to look at, and a few home decor ideas I'll never try but would like to think I could. As of right now, I follow 65 people: mostly friends, but a few I don't know but have decided have excellent (read: similar) taste. And 65 people follow me, including more than a few I have never met. And I have spent many hours scrolling through page after page of recipes, hair styles, incredible home libraries, and vintage cookware, looking for inspiration. What I thought would be a mindless time waster has become an active pursuit, and I tend to my boards as one might a garden. Whenever I get an e-mail that someone new is following my boards, I feel validated in my tastes, and, in some small way, in myself.
So what does all this say about the ways in which women are visual? Why do so many women spend so much time seeking out images to pin? Some users simply want a place to track things they don't want to forget. Wedding planning seems to be a popular theme, as do crafting, cooking, and decorating. Many items are accompanied by comments like "I want this!" or "I need to try this!" Workouts, recipes, and "thinspiration" images motivate users to get in shape, and DIY crafting and home improvement ideas inspire project ideas. "Research has shown that making a ‘vision board' with pictures of things that inspire you to live healthier are more effective than writing goals on a piece of paper or just resolving to do them in your mind," says a Shape article entitled, "Can Pinterest Change Your Life?" And the site proves that women can be visual in exactly the same ways as men—I've seen more than enough images of shirtless men to confirm this hypothesis. Pinterest seems to be a forum for building up "innocent" fantasies—dream closets, dream homes, dream men—and in this way encouraging consumer tendencies. These fantasies engage both a visual and emotional fantasy that is often disconnected from reality. By collecting and displaying these images, we are laying ourselves and our desire out for all to see.
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Rhonda
I love Pinterest and I have always wondered why Christians don't have a place that is similar afterall youtube has a christian twin called Godtube so I typed in Godinterest.com and there it was a new site how fun is that it looks like they are trying to keep it as a Christian community... I Love it
Kristi
I totally agree with what you said: "How many hours spent on Pinterest are rooted in discontent?" I have felt the same about my time on Pinterest. It rarely makes me happy to spend time there, and even less rarely does it point me to the truth of the gospel. I decide to start blogging about using the things people Pin about to point ourselves back to the things of God, because a lot of them correlate. I'd love for you to check it out and see what you think! http://becomingher.com
christmas ideas for Mom
Hey! I'm at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 4! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the outstanding work!
Winnie
I don't create many responses, however I browsed a few of the remarks on this page Her.meneutics: Why Women Are Obsessed with Pinterest. I do have some questions for you if it's allright. Could it be only me or does it seem like a few of the remarks appear as if they are coming from brain dead people? :-P And, if you are posting at additional places, I would like to keep up with you. Could you list of all of your shared pages like your Facebook page, twitter feed, or linkedin profile?
LN
To me, Pinterest, which I love, is like a big scrapbook of possibilities, memories, and beauty, a life collage. God has been convicting me to quit pinning and I've pondered why Yesterday I came across this in Andrew Murray's book, "The Blessings of Obedience." I think it expresses what is wrong with Pinterest. "... We must be careful to obey every commandment-even the last that forbids covetousness. Too frequently the Christian gives way to disobedience, and he covets and lusts after what is not his. All this must come to a complete end. We must confess it and, in God's strength, put it away forever if we are to have any thought of entering a life of full obedience (to God)...Self is the root of all lack of love and all disobedience. Our Lord calls each of His disciples to deny himself, take up his cross, forsake everything, lose his own life, humble himself, and become the servant of all. He asks all this because self-self-will, self-pleasing-is simply the source of all sin. When we give in to the flesh by overindulgence in eating and drinking; when we gratify self by seeking, accepting, or rejoicing in that which indulges our pride; when self-will is allowed to assert itself and we make provision for the fulfillment of its desire, we are guilty of diobedience to His command. This gradually clouds the soul and makes the full enjoyment of His light and peace impossible." P. 539-540, "The Practice of God's Presence Seven-in-One Anthology" by Andrew Murray.
LN
To me, Pinterest, which I love, is like a big scrapbook of possibilities, memories, and beauty, a life collage. God has been convicting me to quit pinning and I've pondered why Yesterday I came across this in Andrew Murray's book, "The Blessings of Obedience." I think it expresses what is wrong with Pinterest. "... We must be careful to obey every commandment-even the last that forbids covetousness. Too frequently the Christian gives way to disobedience, and he covets and lusts after what is not his. All this must come to a complete end. We must confess it and, in God's strength, put it away forever if we are to have any thought of entering a life of full obedience (to God)...Self is the root of all lack of love and all disobedience. Our Lord calls each of His disciples to deny himself, take up his cross, forsake everything, lose his own life, humble himself, and become the servant of all. He asks all this because self-self-will, self-pleasing-is simply the source of all sin. When we give in to the flesh by overindulgence in eating and drinking; when we gratify self by seeking, accepting, or rejoicing in that which indulges our pride; when self-will is allowed to assert itself and we make provision for the fulfillment of its desire, we are guilty of diobedience to His command. This gradually clouds the soul and makes the full enjoyment of His light and peace impossible." P. 539-540, "The Practice of God's Presence Seven-in-One Anthology" by Andrew Murray.
jess
interesting post
Karen
While many may use Pinterest as a means to collect things that they want, I use Pinterest as an organizing tool. Initially, I stayed away from the site because of the reasons cited in this article--people kept telling me they spent hours on the site or were addicted to it. However, once I took a look for myself, I found that it was neither time consuming nor addicting--at least not for me. Whether it's sewing patterns or craft projects or recipes, this is a great way to see everything at once and save it all in one place, rather than hunting all over the web for that pattern I saw last month. It's also a fun way to provide articles/quotes of interest and encouragement for my friends. If I find a cute baby idea, I can pin it, rather than e-mailing it to people, etc. Why social media? Some of us have businesses from home so that we can be stay-at-home moms. Pinterest and other forms of social media are cheap advertising that works. People do business with those they know, like, and trust. Social media allows us to connect with many more people and build rapport with them, simply through sharing our interests. Pinterest may be a vice for some, but it is also a time-saving organizer for many others--and for some it may be a means of generating income that allows them to be the mothers they want to be.
Doreen Ashley
http://www.juxtapost.com is similar to pinterest but does it a little better
Doreen Ashley
I just found Pinterest a couple months ago and see it as a great avenue to share how others can help us here with our missions work in Ecuador. My husband and I administer a Christian school and I have posted items that our school loves to have donated that are hard to get here as well as items that our family misses from the US. We have already received two care packages as a result. I think it is a great visual tool to encourage others to give in a tangible way. So, for me pinterest has been a great help in our ministry. Check it out at http://pinterest.com/wanderingnec/
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