Pinspiration

Pinterest is a Barbie dream house for college women. We get to play dress up

with Christian Louboutin shoes and fluffy white wedding gowns in our imaginary

closets. We learn how to paint ombré nails and Lauren Conrad teaches us how to

braid our hair twenty different ways. We can cook a fabulous dinner and bake a cake

that rivals Betty Crocker’s creations. Not to
mention, we know exactly which cut of

diamond that’s going to be in that tiny Tiffany box the day he gets down on one

knee, and exactly what color scheme our wedding will be. Pinterest is our online

dreamland, but is it molding us all into insane domestic divas?

The online idea-organizational system was created by a group of

entrepreneurs in Palo Alto, Calif. and its popularity peaked in early 2012.

According to techcrunch.com, the social media website is widely famous

with “18-34 year old upper income women from the American heartland”. In other

words, the Pinterest demographic is made up of young women who are planning

weddings, moving into their own homes, learning how to cook, and essentially

preparing for the rest of their lives.

“Pinterest is a great social network for normal people to get inspiration from.

You can see how normal people have put outfits together, re-done their bathrooms,

or basically anything,” said Carly Harber, a junior communications major. “Many

people look at Pinterest as a waste of time, but I really think that it can inspire

people to try new things.”

College students can utilize Pinterest for ideas geared towards their own

daily life such as fashion inspiration, budget tips, healthy eating and exercise

routines, and study advice. Pinterest is broken into categories and users can search

for particular types of pins.

“I definitely use the category Women’s Fashion the most because I look at

how other people have styled outfits and I can take items from my wardrobe and

style them similar, but with my own twist,” said Harber. “Looking at how celebrities

dress is fun, but somewhat unreachable because their close are way too expensive

for the average person.”

Carly A. Heitlinger, from the blog The College Prepster

(www.thecollegeprepster.com) and editor-in-chief of Sweet Lemon Magazine uses

her Pinterest boards to showcase her online work. She has a board dedicated to her

blog posts, as well as one for content of the magazine she edits. In addition, she has

boards about organizational tips and pins interview tips. Heitlinger, a recent college

graduate, is an example of how college students utilize Pinterest.

The website becomes a slippery-slope when students begin to start living in

their online daydream.

Women who are still in college are mapping out their dream weddings, when

many don’t even have a boyfriend.

“Pinterest creates almost a fake life,” said Bela Currier, a junior family studies

and communications major. “I think it’s good to get ideas from, but some people get

way too involved in it like creating boards such as ‘dream life’ or ‘my dream

wedding’.”

Amanda Nachmanson, a sophomore communications major, thinks Pinterest

is materialistic. “I feel like sometimes its just another way for people to try to one up

another,” said Nachmanson. “Like with wedding boards, who can find the prettiest

dress or most exquisite ring and coolest wedding theme. It takes away from the

whole point of a wedding and focuses more on material things.”

The social media hasn’t strayed from what it was originally created for:

inspiring. According to their website, “Pinterest lets you organize and share all the

beautiful things you find on the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings,

decorate their homes, and organize their favorite recipes.” Whether it is inspiring

students to study, purchase fancy shoes, or find a husband to go along with their

wedding, Pinterest is doing exactly what it was created for.