For the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to get my life in order. But my biggest problem, apart from motivation, is my new addiction to mini-dramas. And when I say addiction, I mean it. I’ve done naff all work and my posting here has slowed to a stop. This is becoming a problem….
It started with an ad
I’m pretty sure that it all started with an ad when I still had TikTok. Over the course of a few nights, the ad kept popping up, getting longer and longer each time. It sucked me in a little bit more every time I saw it. There was crap acting but I saw enough of the mini drama to be hooked. Would the true identity be revealed? How did the bad guy think he would get away with this? And why did everyone hate that guy over there when he was clearly a victim who was suffering at the hands of the bad guy? So I downloaded an app. I watched the mini drama to the end. Then I deleted the app. After a while, I started noticing the ads for the mini dramas again. Rather than get sucked back into the micro episodes, I scrolled past, choosing to ignore them. Eventually I deleted most of my social media profiles and didn’t give those mini dramas a second thought.
The Facebook Trap
Here’s the thing: I deleted most of my social media but not Facebook. Why? Because I have pictures on there that I need to download and print before I delete it. And I mean it, I will delete it, eventually. The problem is, it’s still there, a little blue box on my phone screen that pops up little red circles to alert me. I don’t like those little red circles, they must be removed. So I click into the app, check the notifications, but before I exit the app, something catches my attention. In fairness, not having TikTok to scroll mindlessly on when I’m waiting on the oven heating up is part of the problem, which is how I ended up on Facebook Reels. Eventually, the same ads started popping up on my newsfeed and the reels. There were only so many times I could watch the same advert before I needed to know why the evil step-sister was trying to break up the relationship between the two fated lovers and steal the groom, the crown was up for grabs, and why is that nice girl getting slapped around at her birthday party?!?!
I gave in…
I wanted to know what would happen. Scrap that- I needed to know. Although we could all argue that we all know how these things end, my Type A personality needed to see it through. I hate unfinished books, movies, and projects. It’s just not me. I need to see something through to the end. And that was how it got me. I watched one mini drama. Then another. Then an ad for a different one showed up and I was sucked into that. The all-knowing Facebook knew I was watching them and my news feed was mainly ads for different apps and mini dramas. The next thing I knew, my phone was beeping at me that it was out of storage. I would rather not disclose how many different apps I had, it was shameful. I was skipping between different apps, chasing the endings of short stories, always knowing how they were going to end but needing to see it with my own eyes.
The great delete
I just want to point out the fact that I did not spend any money on these apps. If I wanted to watch the full story, I played the ads. There was no way I was handing over my bank details. I’ve seen so many ads for mobile games, I can see them when I close my eyes at night. I’m not sure what the turning point was, or when I realised that this was becoming a problem. It may have been when I saw my screen time was hitting six hours a day. Keep in mind, I’m trying to get my screen time down to under an hour. And I have more important things to do with my time. Or maybe it was when I opened my camera and my phone told me that I had no storage left to take photos. It doesn’t matter. I knew I had a problem….and I kind of didn’t care. I was completely invested in a 50 part series that had more twists and turns than a conversation with my ex-husband. But when I got to the end of the story, I had the same feeling come over that I had experienced when I had leveled up my Sim to the max back in the early Noughties. I felt nothing. So I deleted a couple of the apps. Not all of them, but most of them.
Why are these so addictive?
I would consider myself a smart person who can spot a manipulative marketing practice at 100 yards. I know that exposing a person to an advert a minimum of seven times will get them to think about engaging with the product or service. I know cliffhangers are a great way to get people coming back for more. And I know that people don’t want to spend ages watching shows on their TV and having short stories in the palm of their hand allows them to get a quick entertainment fix. I know all of this and I still fell into the trap. I’ve even stopped writing this post twice to try and find out what will happen to the queen after she was kidnapped by her stupid ex boyfriend who married her half sister. Addicted.
Will I ever delete the last app and return to normal life? Is the drama of my own life enough to make the stories in my phone appear tame? Actually, I can answer that one now- yes, my life has more drama than those stories, I just wish I had the bank balance to match the characters. Maybe one day I’ll put my phone down long enough to write about them. Until then, I’ll just have to leave you with that little cliffhanger and wondering how my life is more dramatic than the betrayed luna who risked her life to break the curse of the warrior king after her fated mate left her for her sister.
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