
The App That Does Nothing - azuajef
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/06/the-app-that-does-nothing/529764/?single_page=true
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tl;dr Ian Bogost (of CowClicker) reviews Dan Kurtz's free ios app. Binky
operates as a fidget toy with the social app interactions. One can scroll
through random pictures, like them, and swipe them. Typing a 'comment' just
reveals the pre-generated comment, word by word. Users are hence able to
satisfy a need for endless novelty, without spending mental energy on social
calculations attached to liking/commenting on the posts of other people.

I've encountered this at, perhaps, the best time. I just read volume one of
the DC comic _Prez_, written by Mark Russell. It's another satire about
American social dysfunction, centered on a _Mr Smith Goes To Washington_
narrative. This app would fit right in as a vacuous gimmick mentioned in
passing.

Kurtz has not made it a transaction: the app is free and has no ads. And yet,
I feel ambivalent. At least typical skinner boxes are limited by my bank
account or my sleep needs. I know it's a far cry from plugging a current into
my dopamine glands. But I'm of a kind that tries to stay away from unregulated
stimulation.

