as a reader This column knows that there is nothing shameful about mobile games. Although at some point in my not-so-distant past I felt embarrassed about playing old-fashioned mobile games, Merge Building Captured my soul and changed my relationship with mobile gaming in the process and social media.tune to Merge Building Allows me to bring up Doom Scroll.
Before we go any further, honest moment: this wasn’t planned.I’m not trying to avoid social media when I click on an Instagram ad merge (Clearly).Instead, by investing in mobile games instead of console games, I was able to train my lizard brain to turn on merge— not Twitter, TikTok or Instagram — every time I reach for my phone. It turns out to be a lot easier than getting into the habit of picking up the controller instead of the phone.
How did this happy accident happen? Like (I assume) many of you, over the past year or so, my nights have started to take on a toxic shape that always ends up with me absentmindedly picking up my phone and…scrolling. I didn’t realize I was doing it until the 10 p.m. alarm went off to remind me to get ready for bed. I’ll be journalist Karen K. Ho and start sending reminders to people on Twitter about why they put their devices down. It’s unhealthy; I’ve never really relaxed and wake up every morning feeling like there’s nothing but rest.
then i start playing Merge Mansion. The game works by letting you generate objects and then merge them. To produce items you have to use energy and eventually it will run out. It only takes about 15 minutes to consume your resources, so there are plenty of natural stopping points built in. Unlike doomsday scrolling, which can evaporate hours of your life without you noticing, Merge BuildingThe energy mechanic makes it easy to keep track of how much time you spend in-game. In short, it’s a more manageable pastime.
The use of social media is hardly that easy to deal with. Trust me, I’ve tried it. I try to hide some apps away from the home screen; I’ve set screen time limits. At one point, I even tried to delete them entirely, but as someone who relies on social media professionally, that’s just not practical.
Mobile games have become loopholes. Instead of deleting Twitter or TikTok, I keep the game on my home screen. Now, when I pull out my phone, the first thing I see is them.It’s not just Merge Building, anyone.i’m also playing family farm adventure. It’s not that I convince myself not to open social media apps – it’s that I don’t think arrive. I’d rather play games.
do you know? I don’t care if I play all night. It’s fun, relaxing, and satisfying. I get a real sense of accomplishment when I upgrade a building or clear the silt from a fountain. I usually play for 15 or 30 minutes, then go find a book or turn on the TV.
It even shows up in my mobile habits: before I start playing Merge Building, I spend about two hours a day on Twitter. Now, it’s only an hour a day for mobile games and half an hour for the Poison Bird app — and sometimes less. Mobile games have really improved my quality of life, and I don’t even need any real work.
While some people are lucky enough to replace Doom Scroll with a handheld game, that wasn’t the case for me. I absolutely love my Switch (and my new Steam platform – more on that in the coming weeks), but the point for me is that the games are on my phone. I don’t have to have another device within reach to access the game. Since my doom scrolling is an automatic bad habit, I need to automate the solution too. For me, that means moving.
If you’re not a mobile gamer but are interested in getting started, try downloading several types of games. I’ve found merging and improving games to be the most successful for me.I don’t necessarily like the free game you’ll end up playing Have Pay for success (although I did buy some add-on packs Merge Building No guilt – it protects my mental health, okay? ). It’s worth experimenting to see what works and what looks good on smaller screens (many iOS mobile games render better on the iPad).
Either way, it’s worth looking into if you want to break this doom-scrolling habit.Speaking of digging, getting ready to plant flowers Merge Building.
