I made an account on Pinterest about four years ago. Since then, my pins have slowly accumulated to a few thousand, a number I am almost embarrassed of. I have to say, though, that I am in love with the site. There are millions of amazing ideas on there. Most of what I pin consists of crafts and art ideas, writing prompts, hairstyles, clothes, and Catholic-related things. Through my "Apparel" board, my sense of style has changed over the past few years, and I would say that it has definitely improved for the better. I've also discovered many inspiring Catholic writers and saints whose quotes I've pinned just because I loved them so much. And my art and crafts boards certainly have aided in motivating me to spend more time creating.
But when it comes down to it, can we really claim that Pinterest is fueling our creativity? Before the age of Pinterest (and google, in general), people's creative ideas came from all over the place. Sitting on the bus, they'd pass a lonely-looking old man hobbling down the street, and suddenly find that this old man inspired them to write a poem. Or they'd bump into a friend wearing a shawl, and they'd make a mental note to find out how to crochet something similar themselves. Or they're just sitting down and having tea in the living room, when they're struck by what a lovely still-life pencil sketch the flowers and coasters on the coffee table would make.
I'm sure that these random bursts of creative inspiration still come into the heads of Pinterest-users, and they still do for me, as well - but I don't think I can deny that I often have the urge to copy someone else's work that I find online. For example, maybe I feel like going outside to sketch the trees - but first I'd probably run a search on pinterest to look at another's use of shading techniques before I do so. Perhaps I wouldn't even end up going outside at all - I might just stay at my desk, ideas flowing from my computer screen. We can certainly learn from others, but I think that the danger that can come from copying another's work is that, if it's done too much, we will lose our own unique touch and personal style.
I think that most of us who use Pinterest regularly have to admit that it is somewhat of an addiction. Not all addictions are necessarily bad - I just believe that Pinterest, as well as all other forms of social media, must be used in moderation. Personally, something which I enjoy, and which I don't find anything particularly wrong with, is scrolling down my Pinterest feed near the end of my day. My work is finished, I'm feeling quite tired, and I just want to spend a few moments doing something pleasurable while drinking my herbal tea. In this context, I think my use of Pinterest is justified. But if I am wasting my time by just scrolling through pictures of cute puppies, or being on there when I should be doing something else, I hope I'd be able to recognize this as a mindless use of my time, and close my laptop right away.
So I guess my question is, in the long run, is the use of Pinterest contributing to the development of our creativity, or not so much?
