Let me start off by saying that I love Pinterest. It is one of my favorite social media sites only falling behind Facebook. To be honest, if not for my blog’s Facebook page, it would be my favorite social media site. Pinterest is a feast for the eyes and until recently completely untainted by advertising and business promotion agendas. Yet, even Pinterest can make a promotion look more interesting. I enjoy looking at the ideas for home décor, kids’ crafts, homemade desserts and DIY projects. Pinterest is a wonderful place to find recipes and ideas to brighten your home and your life. It is also a great place to develop a complex.
When you click on Pinterest you immediately see all the DIY projects, recipes, and preschool fun crafts and games that everyone else is doing but you. And me. I suppose that makes two of us. At least it feels like everyone has gourmet meals, homes that belong in the next issue of House Beautiful, and children making art projects all day long. If you are on enough you may begin to believe that every child has a mom who provides googly eyes, safety scissors and markers as afternoon entertainment. You may believe that every mom is making a gourmet afternoon snack and fun desserts every night. Or worse, you begin to believe your child is the only one not eating lunch out of bento box with veggies shaped like the Eiffel Tower.
Pinterest is not the only social media site that causes complexes. I once saw an image that said, “May Your Life One Day be as Interesting and Fun as on Facebook.” Everyone looks more interesting on Facebook. When I post school projects and a daily run to the store I some how look like Supermom. In the end, we need to live outside of social media and the “standards” it sometimes seems to impose. There is no need to feed your child organic apples cut to look like a lion. There is a need to spend your time with your child. Your time is much more valuable and precious than any art project made from carrots and celery.