Pinterest is a social media platform where users can search, save, and shop ideas. With over 10M boards and 1.5B pins per week there is never a shortage of content to spark new ideas. Users can use pins as a creative outlet by sharing their own content or personal website when posting their own pin. Learning how to use the app with a positive intention and safety settings will help students stay safe and Shine Online.

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Educators and parents: Guide your students' reflection and discussion with this student worksheet. (Log in to your Google account and select File-->Make a Copy)

Overview video for parents & educators

What is Pinterest?

• Pinterest is a visual discovery tool that helps users find ideas for projects, hobbies, and interests
• Users search and browse through “pins” or posts relating to their topic of choice
• As users find pins they are interested in, they can save the pin to their own “boards” or folders for later reference, or upload pictures, links and descriptions to share with others

Why do students want to be on Pinterest?

• Pinterest can spark ideas and inspire students to try new things
• It can ignite students’ creativity
• Students can share their ideas on the main page or also share them with friends in a direct message on Pinterest or through Facebook, X, WhatsApp, or Messenger
• Students can make their own pins to promote their own website or personal work
• Teens can create a private board that is only visible by the user and those invited to it

What is Pinterest rated?

App Store: 12+

Google Play: T (Teen)

Terms of Service

Policies and guidelines

Pinterest is a publicly traded company and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA

Why should parents and educators care?

• Users must be 13+ years of age to create an account but the only verification is for students to enter their birthday during the account creation process
• Posts pinned by your student can appear when colleges search for your student’s name online
• There is some content that is not appropriate for kids on Pinterest such as pins that include nudity in the lingerie category or pictures of people drinking alcohol in the wine/beer section
• Pinterest accounts (especially those that are under real names) are searchable online and Google can find them
• Pinterest has become a new type of online shopping site. Most of the pins of clothing, shoes and cosmetic products are linked to online stores or blog posts
• Students can create a private board that can only be accessed by themselves and those they invited

What can parents & educators do?

• If students under 13 create an account parents or guardians can report the account to Pinterest and request it be deleted
• Search for your student on Google using these terms: First name + Last name + Pinterest
• Search for your student on Pinterest.com and make sure each board and pin is something you want a college to find
• Have an open dialogue with your student regarding what content is appropriate to view and share online

Parent & student training videos

How to Set up Pinterest: A Guide for Students

How to Shine Online with your "Pins"

Creating a Pinterest account

• Users can create a Pinterest account using an email address or Facebook account
• A real name or a nickname can be used
• After registering, users can connect their Pinterest account to Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and other email accounts

How to edit message settings

Users can receive direct messages from followers, collaborators, and those they follow, but settings can be adjusted to be more restrictive. 

• On your computer, log in to your Pinterest account
• Click the down arrow icon next to your profile photo at the top-right
• Select Settings
• Select Social permissions
• Under Messages, click Edit next to the group you'd like to manage message settings for
• Choose your preferred message setting
• Click Save

How to submit a report on Pinterest

• Open the profile, pin, or board you'd like to report
• Click on the three dots on the comment, message, account, or board name
• Click Report
• Select your reason for reporting then click Next
• Click Report to confirm

How to make a profile private

Private profiles won't appear in search results on Pinterest or in search engines, but you can invite people you know to follow you (Source: Pinterest) Profiles under age 16 do not have the option to be public

• Log in to your Pinterest account
• Click the down arrow icon at the top-right corner to open your menu
• Click Settings
• Click Profile visibility at the left side of the screen
• ‍Toggle the switch next to Private profile

Improving search results with Pinterest

• Use your real name. Example: Josh Ochs
• Choose a good username avoiding underscores and dashes. Example: @JoshOchs
• Link to your other social profiles/your personal url. Example: https://JoshOchs.com
• Post consistently
• Write meaningful captions that showcase your knowledge or gratitude
• 策划 Pinterest 留言板，重点介绍你对研究领域或行业的了解
• 以积极的方式为你的大学或职业生涯树立品牌
• 写一个清晰的简历
• 在个人资料照片中张贴一张清晰的照片。使用这张照片作为你在所有其他社交媒体账户中的头像

学生应该发布什么？

• 收藏您个人网站上的内容、您所在行业的文章或教程、对您研究领域思想领袖的访谈或有用的内容
• 学生还应考虑使用Pinterest为自己的个人品牌策划一个 “情绪板”
• 避免置顶来自有争议来源、负面评论或不当图片的内容
• 将您的 Pinterest 个人资料视为简历的延伸

为家长、学生和教育工作者提供更多资源

Instagram 应用程序指南：家长、教育工作者和学生需要知道的内容

YouTube 和 Tweens：家庭安全使用 YouTube 的小贴士

学生设备上的家长控制：家长和教育工作者需要知道的内容

家长的 Snapchat 终极指南

结论

Pinterest 是一个有趣的地方，可以获取有关爱好和项目的想法以及学生简历的扩展。Pin 图应被视为其在线声誉的永久组成部分，即使他们认为这是隐藏的或秘密的。与您的青少年进行公开对话非常重要，了解他们的目标以及适合在网上查看和分享的内容。