I deleted my Pinterest account today. Quite frankly, I’m just over the whole thing.
The problem I faced with my own account was what I like to call “I’ve seen this shit before” syndrome (which is usually stated in frustration while perusing the latest pins followed with a big sigh). It goes like this: friend A pins an item. Mutual friends B and C both like the item enough to repin it to their own boards. Because I follow all 3 friends, I see the same idea 3x when I look at the pin feed. I’m guilty of this myself, but perhaps I’m maybe the only one fed up enough with it?
And then there’s the fruitless pinning. The things that warranted a pin, but you never get around to actually doing. Recipes, crafts, etc. Or the pins of home styles, or clothes, or jewelry… Those pins that make me long for things because staring at beautiful photos of beautiful houses made me feel like what I have isn’t good enough.
What was supposed to inspire me was, instead, making me feel absolutely horrible. Because then I had this internal fight with myself over my desire to be happy/content/more minimalist/un-consumer-ish and the new desire to have all this unnecessary stuff.
So I’m done and over it and moving on. It’s better for my creativity, my wallet, and my mental health.
the record for me was 25 repins of the same thing on my home screen. it felt both oppressive and sad.
there’s a nice anthropological study of the lingering of middle school lunchroom culture ready and waiting on that site.