Colette Shade of The Atlantic writes:

Pinterest is one of the most popular social media sites, so it’s not surprising that users who are part of the prepping community have carved out a niche for themselves. It’s unclear whether preppers see any irony in the fact that they are using a site that drives consumer sales as a way to plan for economic, social or environmental collapse.  (I contacted about a dozen of them; no one got back to me).

Maybe he link between preppers and Pinterest may have something to do with Mormons. Seriously. Pinterest appears to be really popular with followers of the Church of Latter-Day Saints, for whom preparing for tough times is an article of faith. “Church members are encouraged to prepare a simple emergency plan,” says the official website for the Church. “Items to consider may include: Three month supply of food that is part of your normal daily diet. Drinking water. Financial reserves. Longer-term supply of basic food items. Medication and first aid supplies. Clothing and bedding. Important documents. Ways to communicate with family following a disaster.”

Adam Clark Estes of Gizmodo adds:

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.