While most of my peers tend to doomscroll on TikTok or Instagram during their free time, I’m engaged in a much more productive activity: actively engaging with inspiring content on Pinterest, the objectively superior app. Why spend hours watching brainrot and “6-7” jokes on TikTok when you can be scrolling through photos of aesthetic notes and outfit inspiration?
Despite my screen time noting Instagram as my most used app (I blame my friends’ Instagram messages for this), Pinterest is the app I trust most with my time and attention. One of its chief positive features is allowing users to scroll through images shared on the app and save them into “boards.”
Since 2023, I’ve been creating vision boards for myself every time the new year rolls around. My 2023 Pinterest vision board featured a diverse array of outfits, books and academic-looking students — revisiting what I prioritized and wished for in freshman year always makes me nostalgic. Meanwhile, my 2024 vision board was filled with affirmations manifesting good grades and self-improvement.
While these two vision boards didn’t fully encapsulate my experiences for those years, my “summer ‘25” Pinterest board was partially fulfilled between writing, meeting new friends and even visiting beaches.
(Jane Lee)
As someone who is almost constantly searching for new clothes, I find Pinterest to be a valuable tool when I’m shopping. Need new shoes? Pinterest has the most aesthetic photos of trending shoes. Additionally, photos of influencers’ outfits are readily available and easy to find based on aesthetic or style. I also have separate boards for nail ideas, haircut ideas and crochet projects — perfect for when I’m getting a new set of nails or have too many projects to keep track of.
One of my biggest boards is simply a collection of pictures of Miffy, a Dutch rabbit character drawn by Dick Bruna — I love revisiting it occasionally and seeing all the variations of Miffy dolls I have saved brings me joy.
But most importantly, when I’m scrolling on Pinterest, I become more inspired to do work I love by regaining motivation rather than being sucked into a mindless loop of negativity found elsewhere on social media.
Seeing pictures of students studying while taking neat notes or even just seeing someone’s ultra clean and organized room forces me to want to do the same — this is inspiration Instagram or TikTok rarely provide me.
