I admit it. I have a problem. My name is Holly and I am addicted to Pinterest. Just like substance abuse, it typically takes someone close to you to be brutally honest with your change in behavior. In this case, it was my husband saying, “You’re on Pinterest AGAIN? Aren’t you spending a lot of time on that?”

He didn’t understand. I was working on building my boards and was extremely productive in pinning. He still didn’t get it. “But what does it accomplish? What happens after you’ve pinned everything?” he asked.

I looked at him like he’d lost his mind. “You’re never done pinning! You just keep pinning… FOREVER. It’s like a Santa list that never ends. You put all of the things you love the most, or wish for desperately or someday hope to do in neat little categorized boxes.

Pinterest is all about aspiring to travel to exotic places, make amazing desserts, re-organize all your closets and decorate your front door in seasonal or holiday color without ever getting up from the computer.

I’ll never create, craft, bake, build or visit most of the things I’ve pinned. But Pinterest is the best time suck I’ve ever experienced. I have flittered away hundreds of hours of my life doing this.

It brings me some sort of sick joy when someone I will never meet in my lifetime decides to start “following” me. As in following my boards, so that every time I pin something, it is sent directly to their own personal site.

It’s more than an imaginary friend. They’re real. And they want to follow you. They copy your work and mark it as their own. They stalk your every move on Pinterest.  If you think about it that way, I guess it sounds a little creepy.

I’ve always loved the scent of lavender. I never thought about the actual plant until I created a board about it on Pinterest. I have over 300 images of lavender. There’s no purpose to having that many pictures of the purple plant, but strangers now go to my board and copy those images.

We never communicate directly with one another except through silent pinning. We are purple plant loving people that share an interest in staring at fields in France that end up in aromatic soaps and lotions.

Don’t get me started on my board titled, “Autumn.” The cult like following for colored leaves is out of control!

The hard and searing truth is that pinning quilt patterns is not the same as actually sewing one. Pinning tips on dream organization will not clear my kids bedroom floors. And pinning “Good to know” handy household tips will not get my mountain of laundry done.

I know it’s a slippery slope, a pit of quicksand, a black hole of never ending yearning. I’m going to spend less time on Pinterest. I’m going to take a step back and regain my life.

Isn’t the first step in recovery admitting that you have a problem? I recognize it, and plan on working on it… as soon as I pin more cookie and appetizer recipes.

 

What is your crack?