There are more articles on this site about social media than any other topic. I truly believe that social media is not a part of the internet, it is the reality of what the world wide web is now all about. Every site you visit has a social aspect, even if it’s just a way to connect to your favorite social media platform. Our businesses are run through social media and advertising is more prevalent and successful on our newsfeeds than nearly anywhere else. Social media isn’t a fad or a trend. It’s the world we live in and for some, it’s an addiction. A new app, Binky, is providing a bit of a caricature of the social media lifestyle and it may just be something you should check out.
Binky is a social media simulator (more like a parody) app that started as a joke. It simulates the features of most status and photo sharing social media platforms by giving you a seemingly endless stream of fake posts to scroll through. As you scroll you’ll see absolutely random and unrelated images with captions that may or may not make sense. You have the option to “Bink,” (read: Like) comment or “Re-Bink” (read: Share) the images that you’re scrolling through. When you click the Bink button you get an explosion of stars from under your tapping finger and a delightful bloop bloop sound. Commenting is my favorite feature of this app because it doesn’t actually let you say anything. Every letter you type after tapping the comment icon automatically puts in a word to form a randomly generated comment of text and emoji complete with meaningless hashtags. Finally, when you share the app you’ll receive a notice that asks if you are sure you want to “Re-Bink” this post. You’re reminded that the Re-Bink doesn’t actually do anything but it actually does. You get an explosion of thumbs up icons. That’s it though, there is not really anyone to share with in Binky.
What is the point?
There really isn’t a point, except for satire and parody. You may be able to say that using this app is a bit eye opening, however. I think it was for me. As I mindlessly scrolled through Binky and clicked on the meaningless buttons and commented the automatically generated sentences on each post I couldn’t help but think about how not far from actual social media this was. What difference does what I do on Instagram or Facebook actually have? Is it any more that my activity on Binky today? I don’t know for sure but I think thinking this way is a good thing. We tend to be so concerned about how we look online that many of us, especially your teen and young adult children, may actually put on a false persona on our social media pages. Binky was a way for me to see the ridiculousness of working so hard to get more likes, comments, and shares.
What Parents Should Know
As I said before this app isn’t a real social media app. There is no social aspect to it at all. It’s more like a simulation of social media. Something to give us another perspective on what our behavior online truly looks like. I recommend spending some time messing with this app and encouraging your young teens and teens to install it and play around on it. It’s not only humorous but could lead to some conversations on the futility of living your life and finding your worth on social media. Maybe, just maybe, you can use an app like Binky to start a conversation that could help you make some good decisions with your kids on what healthy social media use looks like in your family.
