If you’re “app-y” and you know it, tell me why

“What apps do you utilize most on your phone?”

When I decided to answer this Mama’s Losin’ It prompt, I cringed a little bit. I don’t love staring my social media usage in the face(book). I was intrigued enough to pursue an answer, though.

And since the Five Minute Friday prompt is “smile,” I’ll share my top five apps (by usage) and what about them makes me smile (if anything).

Thank you to TNW/The NextWeb for How to find your most-used apps on your iPhone. The article gave two methods for figuring out how many apps you use. I apparently didn’t have “screen time” turned on, so I went with the “battery usage” option.

Here are the results:

Let’s ditch the home/lock screen and address everything 5% or over:

WFSU

I use the WFSU app for news — first thing in the morning, between editing sessions at work (I don’t like listening to words when I’m editing), and most of the evening if I’m at the computer working. (I used to play CNN for those times, but I had that through DirecTV, which we don’t have anymore, and haven’t figured out how to sign into it again. I have to admit I’m getting a wider variety of topics by listening to public radio than CNN.)

Does it make me smile? Yes (The news itself isn’t always optimistic, but some of the writing and reporting is incredible and many of the non-news shows are fabulous.)

iHeartRadio

The main thing this post is going to do is to back up the fact that I’m a creature of habit. I mainly use iHeartRadio to listen to WQXR while I am editing (before noon). I listen to it for the classical music. I also love hearing the “Know-it-All New Yorker” segment on Mondays, the weather in New York, and all things New York.

I enjoy listening to Stuff You Should Know and sometimes play Coffee Shop Radio at night as I’m reading/going to sleep.

Does it make me smile? Yes Anything about New York makes me smile. The SYSK guys are funny and smart.

Facebook

I use Facebook for the same reasons most people use it, I suppose. Besides the personal reasons, I do use it for some really cool projects I’m involved in, such as the #NYTReadalong and, most recently, Little Steven’s Road Show for TeachRock. (As a side note, the work Steven Van Zandt is doing to help teachers engage students through history lessons about popular music and culture — provided free to the teachers — is incredible. Check it out and donate if you can.

Does it make me smile? Connecting with people I wouldn’t be able to interact with otherwise makes me smile. Being involved in cool causes such as TeachRock makes me smile. Otherwise, Facebook has probably sucked up time I should have been spending in nature or with loved ones face-to-face.

Spotify

Spotify completes the trifecta of “things I listen to on my phone.” (My daughter got me an Alexa for Christmas a couple of years ago. My husband advocated for this so I could “stop tapping around on my phone.” It is SUCH a sign of how I am that I would rather silently tap on my phone than verbally tell a device what I want, but I digress…)

After listening to WQXR on iHeartRadio in the morning, I switch to Spotify after noon. I listen to either jazz, classical, film scores, ambient music or something else instrumental. I also have my own playlist of editing tunes on Spotify. In addition, as another side note, my friends Chryssy and Heather have a podcast that’s on Spotify. You can listen to the episode where I was the guest here.

Does it make me smile? It does in the sense that it helps me get through the day. I’ve also been listening to the Hamilton soundtrack on repeat while walking for exercise recently, and that has definitely made me grin.

Twitter

In September, I will have been on Twitter for TWELVE YEARS. Holy cow. Twitter has changed its interface so it’s hard to see how many tweets a person has sent over their Twitter lifetime. I do know I have sent well over 100,000 tweets.

For reasons I outline in the blog post I linked to above, I have met the BEST people through Twitter. I have developed relationships that led to jobs and, in an indirect way, the job I have now. Some of my Twitter work is professional rather than personal.

Does it make me smile? Usually. Like all social media, Twitter has its upsides and downsides. On balance, though, it gives me more smiles than grimaces. (I could also use more followers since I’m at a following limit, so feel free to check my profile out. I’m also very proud of my work account, SBLeaders, and would welcome you to follow it too.)

Instagram

I’m on Instagram as much as I’m on Twitter, so it’s a tie. When I first started on Instagram, I was annoyed that I would see the same exact post on someone’s Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. That’s still the case, but it has gotten a little less aggravating. I like having to see things through a visual perspective. I dislike the crazy follows from clearly bogus accounts.

Does it make me smile? Mostly. Instagram has enabled me to see my new niece who was born in March — I can’t visit her yet due to COVID. That alone is reason enough. But in general it does entertain me more than it frustrates me.

What about you?

What apps do you use the most? Do they make you smile or frown?

I’m also linking up with Five Minute Friday, for the prompt “smile.”