Why I Hate Pinterest

I know, shocking, right?  You'd think with all the crafty stuff I do, I'd love it.

My hatred of Pinterest has reached an all-time high because *everyone* in my Facebook feed is raving about xyz they found on Pinterest, how much time they're spending on Pinterest, and "OMG Guys!  Have you seen Pinterest?!"  Scratch that - it only seems to be women who are using Pinterest.

I. Can't. Take. It.

I was "lucky" to get an invite to a year ago.  I had no idea what it was but some of my crafty friends were trying it out, and raving about it.  I logged in, pinned a couple of things and promptly forgot about it.  It just wasn't fun or useful to me.

Fast-forward several months, and it's starting to become "a thing".  There are little "pin it" buttons on websites.  Anytime you ask someone about a cute craft or yum food they made, they say "I found it on Pinterest."

Why I hate it:

1.  It's visually overwhelming

I'm not a visual person AT ALL.  So a grid of pretty pictures is nice enough but does nothing for me.  I capture projects I want to tackle in OneNote and make copious notes in addition to grabbing a photo and a link.  In fact, when I see a page full of those pinboards, it's overwhelming to my brain to see that many photos together.

2.  It encourages a culture of "pinning just for the sake of it"

People seem to want to create pinboards for other people to appreciate and "follow", or whatever the appropriate term is.  Who knows if it's really a list of things that speak to their soul - it just seems like one of those pointless games on Facebook, like managing your virtual farm.   I feel the same way about the Etsy Treasury - people make them with a certain "look" to try to get selected for Etsy's front page.

3.  It discourages action

It encourages its users to waste more time pinning and wishing.  I feel this way about TV and Facebook, too.  Junk TV is fun to watch and balm for the brain, but at some point you have to switch it off and get the heck off your couch.  At least with Facebook I am getting *some* marginal use, because I'm strengthening friendships.  But you know what's better?  Taking a walk, cooking, or hanging out *in person* with someone you like.  LauraC blogged about this a few months ago.

4.  It discourages creativity and encourages copying

This is not new - there have always been people online trolling Etsy for craft ideas.  But the popularity of Pinterest has taken this to a new level.  It encourages folks to just re-use others' ideas, and by giving us such an easy way to share and store them, it squelches creativity.   Why should I figure out a cool idea for Valentines in my daughter's class when I can just troll Pinterest and choose from the many options there?  On a more insidious level, why not copy some idea I saw on Pinterest and sell it at a craft fair or on Etsy myself and make some easy cash?  I hate that the popularity of Pinterest makes this so much easier and more widespread.

5.  It makes me feel stressed out and inadequate
Yes, I realize this is my own personal problem, but I suspect it affects a lot of others as well.  As a working mom, I can imagine buying those preprinted Valentines-in-a-box, but after trolling Pinterest, how dare I?  What kind of mother would deny her child the opportunity to make handcrafted, individual treat jars with homemade baked goods for all of her classmates? 


And wow, look at all those cool home decor ideas.  Wouldn't it be awesome if I could do all those?  Oh look, here's another 20 things to add to my To-Do list.  Just what I needed.  Honestly, just *looking* at the cool projects on Pinterest makes my blood pressure rise.

Borrowed from I Love Charts on Tumblr

I'm not saying Pinterest shouldn't exist, or that it doesn't serve a real, useful purpose to many people.  It does.  It's well-designed, a smart idea, and gorgeous.  But these reasons are why *I* don't use it.  Why I haven't added a "find/follow/pin/whatever me on Pinterest" button to my blog.  Why I want to scream when another person on Facebook displays a project copied from Pinterest.

I'm all for DIY, being more crafty and doing fun stuff with kids.  But I wish people would have done these things before Pinterest, or in spite of Pinterest.  Not because of it.