Tweeting, re-blogging and even stumbling have dominated the procrastination field for students. Now those same students have turned to a new forum: pinning.
Pinterest, an invitation-only website and the latest social media platform, is home to virtual boards that allow users to post pictures of things they see around the Internet and organize them for those who are just OCD enough to revel in this concept.
The process is simple. Pictures are pinned to different boards of various categories for different reasons. Some may create a “Fashion Wish List” board to aid on future shopping trips. Others may create a recipe board, especially those in a dorm, as a dream of foods to make when a full kitchen becomes available.
Away from the site? No problem. Pinterest has a toolbar button to aid in easy pinning. It’s as easy as clicking on the button and then selecting the picture that he or she wants to pin. Pick a board for the pin to go on, add a description, and it’s there for future reference.
New pinners continue to flock to the site.
“I just saw it a lot through Facebook and heard it was better than StumbleUpon,” said sophomore Kramer Deans, a rather new member to Pinterest.
The addiction kicks in quickly for most members.
Diana Wells-English, a nursing major and avid pinner, estimated the amount of time she spends on the site, “An hour a day,” she said. “Definitely every day.”
Amanda Cutrona, a sophomore, “probably spends about three hours a day on it.”
On Pinterest, users can follow their Facebook friends that have boards, or they can follow random boards that post things they find interesting, which Wells-English said is her favorite aspect of the website. From these other users, members can re-pin images from others’ boards to their own.
Pinterest builds its whole identity on the sharing of likes and ideas. On the “About” page, the site claims to help create links between people from this very practice.
Junior art history and Spanish major Pilar Ferrar’s favorite aspect is “the camaraderie of it.”
“There are people out there who like the same thing. They have the same sense of humor,” she said.
Pinterest is not only a site for organization and lists, but it easily becomes a first resort for procrastination. Pinners find themselves distracted for hours by the visually enticing site before they realize what has occurred.
“I feel like Pinterest is good for everyone really,” Cutrona said. “It’s really helpful to help plan your life.”