I am an avid Pinterest user, and am here to offer five reasons why you should give Pinterest a try on a consistent basis. You might be thinking, why would adding another social media site to my rolodex be beneficial? The current trend certainly is to TRY to cut those networks from our lives. I would argue though that Pinterest works a bit differently, and its use has actually become a habit to me that’s sacred, that I consider important to my routine, and that I hope to share with you below:
- For inspiration
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This is the prime reason why I use Pinterest. I typically do so in the morning when I’m personally most “high” on motivation and drinking my morning cup of Joe. Scrolling not only calms me during this tranquil part of my day, but adds to that motivation. I see aesthetic studying content, places I want to travel to one day, homes I’d want to live in, and pictures that capture memories I one day can have. I think of it as visualizing my future. What do I want ? What goals do I want to set? These give me a visual representation, in a sense, of what I want to achieve and what I could want to achieve. I’m constantly adding new things to my list of what I’m working towards and the things/habits that I want to implement into my daily life. I think about it as my daily dose of manifestation. I don’t just want to see my goals on paper in my journal. I want to see them visually.
- To spend your time scrolling on something that might be less toxic than other forms of social media
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This bullet relates to the question of WHY we would want to add another form of social media to our lists of distractions. I like Pinterest because a bit like TikTok, your feed conforms to you. The things you pin directly inform what pops up on your feed. If you’d rather not see certain images that typically lead you to comparison, you don’t have to (just don’t save them). Also, since I’m doing the “mental work” of manifesting as I mentioned, I find that I don’t just passively scroll for hours. The time I spend on Pinterest is more intentional, and in a sense, productive. Lastly, I find that Instagram, since I can post as well, sometimes makes me feel like having a good feed is a way to “compete.” I don’t think about this on Pinterest since my feed is really just for me. Seeing great pins from others only makes me want to save them and add them to mine, not to make me think that my feed is inferior. I don’t even follow anyone I know that I could more
“closely” compare myself too. - To keep a stock of “inspiration” memories
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To keep a stock of “inspiration” memories – I mentioned that Pinterest for me is largely for inspiration. I make a board each month that takes stock of the inspiration I find. This is super cool to look back on and acts in a different way to just looking back at my instagram. This is a way I love to keep track of what I was drawn to when, what goals I’ve had, how my interests have changed, and what I’ve achieved since pinning those things. What have I implemented? How similar is my life starting to look, in little ways, to my boards? I love that, like my Spotify playlists, I’ll always have these mementoes to remind me of what excites me. It reminds me of how dynamic we all are, and how what we’re drawn to always changes.
- For anonymity / depersonalization
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I sort of said this above, but one of my favorite parts of this site is the fact that no one knows me. My board is really just for me, so I’m not worried at all about my followers and their perceptions (since I don’t know any of them). My inspo is just for me.
- To expand your worldview
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Instagram can feel like a bit of a bubble, with my feed mainly just being people I know (with people that live similarly lives to be, essentially). It helps me a lot to see what’s out there, and to constantly be reminded of how big the world is, how many more goals I can add, and how big of a life I can really live. It’s easy for the world to feel small, which can be comforting, but it’s also really motivating to know how much more there is to do and see out there.