Sometimes I get the urge to blog about something. And I cannot rest until I say what I need to say. This is such an exciting time in my life! I have a 6 week old baby girl and as of Friday night, a FIANCE! And I fully intend to blog about these life events. But tonight, I am going to blog about Pinterest. Yup, PINTEREST!
I have such a love/hate relationship with this site. Before pinterest even existed I used to save images to my desktop, and I categorized them into folders (wedding, fashion, etc). So when this site was created I was thrilled! It was a way to organize images and ideas easily for future reference.
I'm sure men simply don't understand the appeal of this site. And understandably so! Mindlessly scrolling through and categorizing images. And it's true, if you really think about it it's silly. Pinning exercise regimens when we could be, well...exercising! Pinning recipes, 99% of which will never actually be created in our kitchens. Pinning crafts like crocheted baby flip flops... babies can't even walk people! Why do they need flip flops! And if they DID need flip flops, would crocheted flip flops even be functional?!
The part about this site that really concerns me is that I feel like it encourages coveting. One of the ten commandments. Millions of women lusting after the perfect kitchen, wedding, physique, wardrobe, the list goes on. But the truth for most of us is that it is out of reach, out of budget, out of realistic expectations. We pin pictures of perfect children, photoshopped and styled in designer children's clothing. While we should be paying more attention to our ACTUAL children.
I worry that this site is making us crazy. I spoke to a friend recently who wanted so badly to throw her one year old daughter a mermaid themed birthday party. In true pinterest fashion, the guests would be dressed like mermaids and partake in the PERFECT mermaid cake. But this wasn't in the budget for her and her family and this saddened her. Has pinterest set the expectations for picturesque parties? Long-gone are the days of a baby in nothing but a diaper sitting in a high chair clumsily devouring a piece of chocolate cake with a #1 candle? Is that no longer enough?
I recently had a friend come over with her newborn daughter. I admit, I felt jealous that her daughter was so well dressed. I got the impression that her daughters clothes were vintage, and from some expensive Etsy shop. She later expressed to me that she felt sad that she couldn't purchase designer baby clothes for her newborn. She would pin images of pieces from Baby Gap and wish she could purchase them. Instead she would scour thrift stores for pieces for her daughter. The very outfit I was coveting was $1 from a thrift store!
Don't get me wrong, I am addicted to this site. Especially since I nurse for 30 minutes every 3 hours. I can only stare at the wall for so long. I do cook some of the recipes I pin. I do listen to conference talks that my girlfriends have pinned. I do find interesting articles on parenting that I enjoy. But this is the exception, not the rule. Most of the time it becomes a blur of emaciated models, crafts, and dream vacations. I sometimes find that pinterest makes me unhappy with my home, my clothes, even my life. This doesn't sit well with me. I don't mean to imply that this site is evil. Everything in moderation right? I just worry that we aren't content enough with what we have. What we've been blessed with. We as women put enough pressure on ourselves. We are inclined to want everything to be lovely and beautiful. Even before we have our first child we feel the need to nest. Instinctively we want our children to have clean beautiful clothes and a warm space to live in. We do need any added pressure!
I have similar feelings about Instagram. We portray the idea that our lives are perfect, and to make it worse we have filters to eliminate any flaws. We envy each other, while surely others are envying us. I realize how hyprocritical this post will seem to those that know me personally. My friends and family call me the queen of Instagram. And I truly enjoy participating in Social Media. Again, it's a true love hate. I am simply recognizing the negative affects it sometimes has on me.
Not sure how to end this post. I'm hoping to create some discussion. After all, isn't that why we blog?
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8 comments:
I was thinking something similar about a babies first birthday. Since I had one recently and my other daughter is barely two is fresh in my mind. People spend so much money on perfectky decorated smash cakes and elaborate 1st birthday outfits. While it's cute its pointless. The kid doesn't care. They ruin it anyway I try to stay away from a lot of the dream houses vacation spot pictures and expensive clothes that other people pin because it's not useful to me. I love a good hair post. I cook at least 2 pins a week sometime up to 5 like on a Sunday. For me it's more idle hands. Im used to working or doing school so I'm in this new chapter in life of a semi stay at home mom and once the kids are content I'm really at a loss. I can't start anything major for fear I'll have to stop in the middle. It's hard.
Oh, Nadia. This spoke to my heart. I so agree with everything you said. I do often find myself feeling ... anxious and unaccomplished after a little time on Pinterest. The anxiety comes from wanting to do everything I see but knowing I just can't. Like you, I have tried many of the things I see on Pinterest. But there's no way I can try everything.
I think you're right -- everything in moderation. But Pinterest does get us carried away into lusting over what our neighbor has and not enjoying what we do have. And that's a crying shame.
I totally agree Nads. This exact topic has been weighing heavy on my heart lately. Every time I think about it, it makes me want to go and delete every social media. It just scares me for the future generations. The world is losing simplicity and gaining envy and jealousy.
insightful. I agree, I think its another marketing tool created to encourage keeping up with others, and getting into debt to have to have it! It's another social media profile for whatever purpose these profiles are made, enjoy what you have, learn to live providently and you will always have more than you could hope for! I've tried it, it works. I think that there is a grand scheme behind these things, coveting, causes spending, and over spending, causes stress, causes problems in marriages with finances, woman wanting more than a man can provide, man feels inadequate, roles are somewhat diminished, in some way or other like many things, there is always an underlying meaning and purpose to an end goal. And that is usually targeted at families and relationships. As pretty as it looks, it can have a negative affect on us more than we vouch for. I think you're onto something here.
this is the exact reason i don't get on pinterest anymore. not only do i feel like it creates competition and a feeling of inadequacy, i also feel like it's killing personal creativity. nowadays it seems everyone wants/has/throws the same parties and weddings and outfits. we shouldn't be scouring pinterest for fresh ideas, we should be inspired by nature and our lives and the books we read and the people we surround ourselves with.
it's taking originality and making it common.
the internet is taking over our lives!!!!!!
and yet, i can't seem to get enough instagram or blogging. love hate indeed.
I have similar frustrations. When I went abroad this summer, I had very limited internet access- and I realized that I was better able to be present in that moment. Now that I am home, I have been trying to use pinterest (social media in general) as inspiration- not entertainment to "pass my time". When I start feeling envious I try to walk away and do something productive(read, make some art, play with my cats lol), it is a hard habit to break.
amen sister amen. just came across your blog and thought i'd comment on this post. it's a love hate for me too. sometimes i go weeks without using pinterest and then i'll get back on and i'm sucked right in! sometimes it's useful to look up certain things, most of the time i'm like this is such a waste of time because i'm never gonna get around to half of this stuff. i'm just sitting here categorizing. haha thanks for this post!!
Hi Nadia! I'm Heather and I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a question about your blog! If you could email me at Lifesabanquet1(at)gmail(dot)com I would greatly appreciate it!
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