Relationships Are a Lot Like Mobile Apps

When you download a mobile app, there is an initial excitement. You can’t wait to explore everything about it. Not even the bad things seem to bother you, like slow loading times and  an awkward interface.

Friends get bothered by how much time you spend with that mobile app. Every opportunity you get is spent on that app, alienating you from your other responsibilities.

Over time, however, the enthusiasm you once had for the mobile app you now possess has waned. You’re just not that into it anymore.

Maybe it’s because it wasn’t as great as you thought it would be. “This is fair,” you might think to yourself as you spend less and less time with the app you once couldn’t rip yourself away from.

You don’t want to fully break off the relationship you have with this app. You’ve both been through so much together, and you want it to still maybe be there in the future. You know, when you’re not quite as sick of it anymore. It’s harsh, but that’s how you really feel.

The problem is that what you really need to do is just delete the app from your phone. Any future interactions are going to be awkward anyway, and it’ll never really be the same. But you insist on trying to keep that app on the hook, tucked away in a folder for potential use.

But the mobile app isn’t ready to let you go either. It starts notifying you all of the time, begging for you to spend time with it again. You may even receive emails, reminding you of the features the app you used to offer you, pleading for your return.

The notifications become incessant, and you begin to realize that deleting the app should’ve been your first move. But you’re in deep now, and ripping off that band aid is going to hurt.

And now, you’re staring at the delete button, petrified. “What about all of the data this app has stored about me? Will deleting it at this point even matter?”

It’s true that the app may be still linked to your social media profiles and even email. You almost feel obligated to just get back together with that app out of sheer convenience. But you’re not a monster. You do what needs to be done. You remove the app from your phone once and for all.

You still see the app once in a while, hanging around the app store or being mentioned by a friend on Facebook. It bothers you less and less, however, as time goes by. You’ve moved on. You’re over that mobile app.

And that’s how relationships are like mobile apps. For the record, deleting an app isn’t being compared to killing the person. If your mind went there, please contact your local mental health counselor. I’ll probably be in the appointment right before you.

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