keep arting

I lead the brave and pampered life of a young, broke college student whose smart phone has a mere 16 GB of storage. Roughly eleven of those precious GB are dedicated to photos of my cat. The other five are for useless things like FaceTime, phone numbers, and linkedin. 

Anyway, I recently threw caution to the “storage-almost-full” wind, and downloaded this app called Neko Atsume/Cat Collector. It’s a “game” (I think) in which your only objective is to attract cats. Cute, simple, and positive. 

Nothing much happens in Neko Atsume. In fact, you’re required to either leave or close the app in order make progress or lure the kitties you’re attempting to attract. This element absolutely fascinates me. 

Imagine if your Facebook app gave you a prompt that read, “Please leave Facebook. You can check on it later.” How freeing is that? Now, cat collecting and social media-ing may be actions about as disparate as corsetry and powerlifting (or maybe not...), but behind this positive little app is the radical idea that good, rewarding things happen when you aren’t staring at a phone. In fact, early on in your cat collecting journey, you’ll find yourself checking the game a little too often, i.e., closing the app and immediately reopening it – just as you would to check your Facebook or Twitter feed. 

But guess what? Nothing important has happened. Neko Atsume refuses to reward you for your constant attention. You absolutely MUST leave the app alone in order to make progress. You MUST disconnect for longer periods of time in order for anything to happen.

This is not to say that you aren’t rewarded with “points” for continuing to play Neko Atsume, (of course you are, it’s a smart phone app) but the simple fact that this game encourages you to disconnect may actually help you add some much-needed balance to your screentime. Plus, the occasional check-ups you make throughout the day provide tiny moments of satisfaction, having completed a small task while remaining productive. 

As a postmodern Type-A weirdo, this “permission” to disconnect prevents me from constantly focusing on the never-ending stream of information I may receive via my phone/the internet. Neko Atsume, weirdly enough, prompts me to re-enter the wonderful world of productivity that gives us Type-A-ers a sense of purpose.

Also, cats.

Keep arting and stay productive. Best wishes,