WEBVTT - Old photos make for good scrolling

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is that old photos can make for good scrolling.

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<v Speaker 1>If you are looking for something to do when you

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<v Speaker 1>don't have much energy, a little reminiscing can feel more

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<v Speaker 1>fun than checking social media. So a few weeks ago,

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<v Speaker 1>my iPhone XS, which I believe I purchased at the

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<v Speaker 1>end of twenty eighteen or the beginning of twenty nineteen,

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<v Speaker 1>finally gave up the ghost. When I went to buy

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<v Speaker 1>a new one and transfer my data, I realized I

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<v Speaker 1>had somehow turned the backups off. This made the process

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<v Speaker 1>of pulling my information off the old phone rather tedious

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<v Speaker 1>and incomplete. The good news is my photos and contacts

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<v Speaker 1>made it. My apps did not. I decided to conduct

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<v Speaker 1>a natural experiment to see what would happen when I

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<v Speaker 1>didn't put any of the usual social media apps back

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<v Speaker 1>on my phone. I am not committed to abstinence, and

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<v Speaker 1>they may be back on by the time you hear this,

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<v Speaker 1>but I thought I would try it for a few weeks.

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<v Speaker 1>How would my time change? The answer is that I

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<v Speaker 1>still spend a lot of time on my phone. The

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<v Speaker 1>truth is that we all have low energy time when

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<v Speaker 1>it is hard to do much else. I have read

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<v Speaker 1>a few books on the Kindle app, which I did reload,

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<v Speaker 1>and I have been more responsive on email. I've read

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of The New York Times, but I sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>don't even want to read anything. So what then, Well,

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<v Speaker 1>it turns out that old photos make for good scrolling.

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<v Speaker 1>I have been fairly impressed with Apple's photo features, where

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<v Speaker 1>they pull together shot of you and a certain other

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<v Speaker 1>person over the years, or show highlights from a trip

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<v Speaker 1>to Disney in twenty sixteen or whatever. It's like a

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<v Speaker 1>slide show that I actually care about. But I often

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<v Speaker 1>then use that as a jumping off point. Let me

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<v Speaker 1>search for photos from Upstate New York and Fall of

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<v Speaker 1>twenty twenty one. Let me look at photos from that

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<v Speaker 1>visit to the orchid show at Longwood Gardens in February

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<v Speaker 1>of twenty seventeen. This can fill a few minutes, which

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<v Speaker 1>is basically what social media scrolling does and requires very

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<v Speaker 1>little energy. But unlike Instagram, where I am looking at

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<v Speaker 1>someone else's carefully curated life, this is my own curated life. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>look how cute my kids were in twenty seventeen, or wow,

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<v Speaker 1>remember when we used to carry the kids in that backpack?

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<v Speaker 1>Or oh, that's the time I made that gigantic sand castle.

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<v Speaker 1>My little experiment has reminded me that boredom is a

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<v Speaker 1>powerful force. We will seek out something that can fill it.

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<v Speaker 1>What that thing is will vary based on what is available. Obviously,

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<v Speaker 1>thirty years ago, no one had smartphones or social media,

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<v Speaker 1>so we filled the time with something else. I do

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<v Speaker 1>remember reading a lot of early Internet forum posts back

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<v Speaker 1>in the day before that, I probably reread a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of magazines or something. But if you have ever enjoyably

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<v Speaker 1>spent an odd fifteen minutes looking through a random photo album,

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<v Speaker 1>then you will know that it has a lot in

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<v Speaker 1>common with scrolling. But no one's trying to sell you something,

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<v Speaker 1>convince you that the world is falling apart, or make

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<v Speaker 1>you feel bad that you are not making your own

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<v Speaker 1>blueberry jam. Old photos make for good scrolling, so they

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<v Speaker 1>might be worth substituting for a little scrolling time in

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time by thanks for

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<v Speaker 1>listening to before Breakfast. If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback.

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<v Speaker 1>You can reach me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com.

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<v Speaker 1>Before Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts

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<v Speaker 1>from iHeartMedia, please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or

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<v Speaker 1>wherever you listen to your favorite shows.