Pinterest is a great place to plan for a fun birthday, a zesty cocktail party, a beautiful wedding, or… the apocalypse. No seriously, there’s a whole subculture of so-called “Preppers” who maintain pinboards devoted to getting ready for the end of the world. It’s more cheerful than it sounds.
The Atlantic‘s Colette Shade just published a small exposé on the trend and offers a wonderfully astute set of reasons why apocalypse prepping is becoming popular on a site better known for party planning. The key seems to be Pinterest’s mission to help people look forward. Shade writes:
In a way, preppers are actually the ideal user for the site. After all, Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp says it was always meant to be a utility: “It’s a tool people use to plan their futures,” he told ReadWrite earlier this year. Preppers just happen to think the future looks bleak.
Head over to The Atlantic to read more about preppers on Pinterest, and learn what to put in your go bag. [The Atlantic]