80 percent of Pinterest users are women
Pinterest is taking over the world with pretty pictures on virtual bulletin boards, and the user demographic is mostly female. Digital crack for women was the Washington Post’s verdict. You’ve heard of football widows and Assassin’s Creed widows, but the first half of 2012 is all about the Pinterest widower. Message boards across the world groan under the weight of Pinterest complaints to the tune of: ‘my wife is addicted to Pinterest’, or ‘my girlfriend has dumped me for Pinterest’, or ‘my daughter isn’t doing her homework and it’s all the fault of Pinterest’.
Take for example this miserable fellow writing on the Disconnect blog under the heading My girlfriend is addicted to Pinterest:
I don’t know when Jen found Pinterest, but I first noticed close to Christmas when I realized we hadn’t spoken to each other in about two weeks. We lived together. We ate together. We worked together. But it was clear that I was no longer the apple of her eye. All of her time was spent pinning. If you don’t know what Pinterest is, good for you. No good can come of it.
It’s time to redress the balance. While your lady lovingly tends her Pinterest boards, you can console yourself with these 5 reasons why her Pinterest addiction is a Good Thing.
- Gift ideas for you
Never be stuck for a birthday present or stocking-filler again. By lurking on your wife’s pinterest board you can learn all you ever wanted to know about her secret wishes. BPE (Before Pinterest Era) I would never have known that Charlie hankered after an organic cotton teatowel printed with a seasonal guide to British Fruit and Veg - Craft ideas for her
Craft is all about spending lots of time making something that you could have bought for less. Or is it? When we move house next month, we won’t be buying lampshades. This Spring, we will be making lampshades out of lace doilies. Ha. And Charlie will be hanging her earrings on a cheesgrater. Meanwhile, Kirsty in New Zealand has gone one step further, doing one Pinterest-inspired craft-or-cooking project every day for a year. - A Boost for the Family Business
Pinterest guides more traffic to your website than Twitter, and it’s better quality traffic because the mouseclickers are genuinely interested in your product. Visitors to Jamshop (spread the love with fairly traded products made by hand in Burkina Faso, ahem) have trebled since Charlie got pinterested in Pinterest. - Free Rein with the TV Remote
“Charlie, I was hoping to watch ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekend’ tonight, but would you rather watch ‘The Voice’?”
“I don’t mind, so long as I can watch TV and work on my Gorgeous Cushions Pinterest board at the same time.”
“Okay.” - Curb your spending
Recently spotted on Charlie’s Horsey pinboard. “Oh Hermès. We can’t afford your $3275 Steeple bag with riding crop handle. We’ll just have to do with pinning it instead.” Those who have criticized Pinterest for encouraging greed and consumerism are missing the point. Beauty is God-given, and pointing out beauty in the world around us is an important part of being human. Aloysa pointed out a couple weeks ago that Pinterest does not lead to mindless spending. Quite the reverse, it leads to more focussed and deliberate spending. In this interesting blog post, she explains why Pinterest is a good substitution for retail therapy.
If those 5 reasons aren’t enough for you, here’s one last one. Occasionally, just occasionally, your wife will unearth something on Pinterest that will knock your socks off. Seeing these sheep sculptures made from retro telephones has absolutely made my day.
Isn’t it time you introduced your wife to Pinterest?
