snipping the tips off my social media binkies

When M was a toddler, I weaned her from the binky by cutting the tips off each one. She was free to use them, but lost interest that very same day. Apparently, I snipped away the joy.

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My relationship with social media is complicated. Sometimes I love it, and sometimes I loathe it. I once used it to build a life coaching business, traveling around the US and moving to Bali. But these days, I’ve no desire to create content for it like I used to.

Sometimes it provides me with laughs, inspiration, and knowledge. It’s convenient for connecting. But it also consistently leaves me feeling ‘meh’ at best and inadequate at worst (always frizzled around the edges). Not to mention its addictiveness is immediate. I find myself downloading and deleting Instagram daily.

Today I tried a new trick (ironically, learned of on Instagram). I set my wallpaper to plain black and phone filter to greyscale. The intention - leave my phone at full functionality, but remove the psychological rewards of using it. Who knew the picture of my cat, whom I’m obsessed with and see every time my phone is in my hand, makes me apt to come back for more?

The verdict so far: a smartphone without color (especially social media) is dull, underwhelming, and, dare I say, depressing? I can do what I need to, but am way less interested in sticking around. The colors of my analog life are suddenly more vibrant.

Did I just snip the tips off my binkies?

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