Pinterest is technically a social media platform. But if you’ve tried Facebook or other sites during a curious moment in your assisted living apartment and found them too confusing or not what you want to spend your time on, don’t automatically discount Pinterest.
This social media site is very different from the others and has some useful benefits for seniors who are interested in all types of topics. Check out our basic guide to Pinterest below and get some tips on how you can integrate this tool into your life within an assisted living community.
Pinterest is like a digital scrapbook for all the things you want to clip online. Did you ever have a notebook, box or other place where you kept things you cut out of magazines or newspapers because they seemed important or you just liked them? Or, have you ever created a vision board by cutting images out of magazines to help you define what you what a room, outfit or other project to look like? Pinterest works like those things, but online.
Pinterest provides a place where you can create digital boards and “pin” items from the internet. Then, you can easily find the things you saved when you want to look at them again later. You can also group items by board for education, inspiration or organizational purposes.
You can create a Pinterest account easily. Just go to Pinterest.com and click sign up.
You have several choices. You can sign up by entering your email, a password and your age. You can also sign up automatically with an existing Facebook or Google account if you’re already logged into those accounts on the device you’re using.
Once you create the account, Pinterest asks you to pick a few categories you might be interested in. This is so it can start showing you pins from other people you might like. You can always change these settings later.
Boards are where you can save things you like, as if you were digitally pinning them on a bulletin board. You can create boards however you want. For example, if you’re an artist, you might create boards for colors, general inspiration, how-tos, painting and drawing. You could create boards for holiday shopping, assisted living apartment décor and quotes you just like and want to read again later.
You make a board by:
• Clicking on the circle with your picture at the top right corner of the screen.
• Clicking on the circle with the plus sign at the middle right of the next screen.
• Clicking “Board.”
• Naming your board. You can also enter other information about the board, but you don’t have to.
• Decide if you want this board to be secret, which means only you can see it, or public, which means other Pinterest users can view it.
• Click “Create.”
Now you’re ready to pin things to the board.
Pins are really just bookmarks. They’re visual links that you can click to find content online again. You can create pins in a couple of ways.
First, you can browse Pinterest and re-pin things you see from others. You simply click the “Save” button on someone else’s pin and choose which of your boards you want it to appear on.
You can also pin things from around the internet as you’re browsing. You’ll need to add the Pinterest button to your favorite browser if you’re using a laptop or desktop computer. Pinterest provides a visual tutorial for using this button.
Does Pinterest sound like fun, but you’re not sure how exactly you would use it? Here are a few ideas for using Pinterest.
1. Save Bible study references. From beautiful Scripture illustrations and quotes to links to studies you’re interested but not ready to dive into, a Bible study board creates a great place to organize options for time in God’s Word.
2. Create an inspiration or prayer board. Save things that simply calm or inspire you. When you’re tired, at a loss or seeking inspiration, you can turn to that board for meditation or ideas.
3. Make a vision board. Want to replace your spring wardrobe before next season, spruce up the living space in your assisted living apartment or start on a new project? A Pinterest board is a great way to save all kinds of ideas you find online so you don’t forget them
4. Organization educational or informational resources. Whether you just love to learn more about history, enjoy delving into weird facts or you’re trying to figure out your Medicare benefits, a Pinterest board or two is a great place to stash information you find.
Ask around the Hickory Villa assisted living community in Omaha. Chances are other residents or staff have their own Pinterest boards you can follow to see what they’re pinning too.
