I was a part of that first generation to get really good at social media. I built up the followings. Fostered community. And was even good enough at it to leverage that work into paid opportunities — when those opportunities operated within my own ethical boundaries.
In 2022, I abruptly deleted Twitter, leaving my massive following on the platform behind.
The other social networks I didn’t completely abandon? I became increasingly disillusioned with them during the early pandemic years, as I watched them morph from tools of community-building and connection to increasingly algorithmic feeds.
These feeds seemed to be pushing us to extremes, somehow further apart in our realities than we already were. They showed me content it decided I might like to see instead of the content I had told it I wanted to see through my follows.
I’m still on some of them, but far less than I used to be. I’m not alone. Social media usage peaked in 2022, studies show, and more people are spending less time on these platforms today.
The new app that got me excited to check my notifications again
Apparently, the way to get me to open an app in 2026 is to appeal to my nerdy little heart. Last year, I learned about an app called iNaturalist. It’s like Pokémon, but in real life.
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You take photos of whatever you might see in the natural world around you. If it’s wild (as in, not domesticated or human-planted), other people can verify the species. Once you have two verifications, your observation can be used by real-life scientists as they do research.
As of today, I have over 100 observations of 87 species. Each time I spot a new type of bird or butterfly, I get a little jolt of excitement as the equivalent of my Pokédex goes up.
(They do not use the Pokémon analogy. That’s all me.)
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Letting my freak flag fly
Back in my peak Instagram days, I’d sometimes post interesting bug finds. Cicada casings that only graced the area once every 17 years. Moths with stunning designs on their wings that looked like a floral print on a couch from the 1970s.
They were not my usual frugal travel pics. I once expressed to my sibling that every time I posted a bug pic, I’d lose some followers.
Maybe don’t do that, then.
Was the reply.
But on iNaturalist, this curiosity is rewarded. I can post all the interesting and ugly bugs I want. And they’re celebrated. Alongside the beautiful birds.
I’ve even learned some stuff about fungi — including the fact that we really don’t know all that much about fungi compared to other biological kingdoms.
Connection to humans and the wider natural world. For free.
I like this app a lot. It’s free. And while they do sometimes ask for donations, there aren’t any ads.
There’s interaction with other humans, verifying each other’s results or cheering them on in their observations. Maybe even helping a scientist out.
I’m not just watching some mindless reel designed to suck me in and distract me into the next advertisement. It makes me stop in wonder and awe at the real world around me, dragging me out of the digital that’s imposed itself on our lives like some type of reverse AR.
I’ve learned a lot about creatures I wouldn’t have noticed before, and just how widely flora and fauna have spread from their original habits with human migrations.
Some people even accidentally come across super rare finds that disprove the assumed extinction of species. I have not been one of those people yet.
But I’m keeping my eyes open.