There are so many social
networking programs that exist today, and Pinterest is certainly one of the
most popular. Just like any other social networking program in which people
would get hooked on to, the purpose of Pinterest is to share ideas with other
people and these ideas are easily accessible to anyone. Everyone that uses Pinterest
uses it for different purposes. The most common uses are wedding ideas, crafts,
recipes and health. But when you look at the “Health & Fitness” and “Food
& Drink” boards, are they encouraging eating disorders?
The majority of the images and
information provided on these boards, you see phrases like, “Pool workout that
burns mega calories and tones every Trouble spot”, “11 Easy Lunches to Lose
Weight”, “25 meals that allow you to eat your feelings, the healthy way”. These
pins certainly reinforce the idea that it is “normal” to be burning “mega-calories”
per day, or eat certain foods to lose 10 pounds in a week. But, it is clear
that these behaviors can often be destructive to one’s health. For example if
someone starts diet X and then after a couple days, they are not satisfied with
the results, they will continue other dieting methods to achieve the desired
results. These dieting methods will required your body to undergo extreme
measures. Pinterest does have policies
in place to ensure that pins are not promoting behaviors that are clearly
harmful, but what about the pins that are inadvertently so?
In general, society has misinterpreted
their views on what is “normal.” It is important for us to redefine the
definition of “normal” living. Pinterest
wants people to network with others and share common ideas, so it’s time to
start sharing the idea of health at every size with others. It is time to start sharing the idea that
health means many different things, not just a number on a scale. The messages
behind those pins are powerful. So, what
are you going to pin today?
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