Did you know that the male North American Porcupine pees on the female porcupine’s rear end quills so he can mate and not get stabbed. I sure didn’t until my sister told me.

I don’t even know why I’m writing this, honestly. I should be making supper right now. My Service Dog gently reminded me that it’s time to cook, but here I am, pretending not to hear her because I got distracted again. You see, I just spent almost an hour watching random videos on Instagram: drawing techniques, icing cakes in mesmerizing swirls, culinary masterpieces, and the occasional hilarious post about something utterly ridiculous. I mean, who wouldn’t want to see a dog nursing kittens and caring for them with her own pups and then the cat doing the same with the yellow lab babies? It was so adorable that I had to watch it several times and of course share it with everyone I know. A dog and cat working as a team to take care of the babies and with the cat the yellow lab puppies are the size of mom cat! That’s entertainment gold right there.

But let’s talk about this phenomenon this vortex of distraction that Instagram and other social media platforms have created. I mean, it’s almost a superpower, isn’t it? I start off intending to quickly check my notifications, and before I know it, I’ve been sucked into a wormhole of content that has nothing to do with anything I planned to carry out today. Honestly, I blame my ADHD. It’s like having a brain that says, “Ooo, shiny!” every two seconds. Pair that with the algorithmic wizardry of social media, and voilà you’ve lost an hour of your life.

Speaking of “shiny,” let’s talk about coffee for a second, because this is related. Hear me out. If I don’t start my day with matcha, or better yet, coffee made from fresh beans (not the pre-ground stuff where the chemicals start aging faster seriously, look it up; it’s fascinating. Truthfully you can find a post on each of these in the chaos of my site), my brain is even more prone to wandering. And wandering it does. Left unchecked, my mind will drift from the task at hand to something entirely irrelevant, like pondering how do sea turtles mate with those hard shells or wondering if I could ever learn to ice a cake like the pros. I mean, have you seen how effortlessly they do those floral patterns? It’s borderline sorcery.

Anyway, back to social media distractions. I think the main culprit here is the sheer variety of content. One moment I’m watching a tutorial on how to make a perfect soufflé, and the next moment, the algorithm decides I need to see someone making dragons with cookies and jolly ranchers with chocolate as the glue and having it actually be able to move on the plate, it was amazing and I just had to save it because it looks so easy. Instagram isn’t just a platform; it’s a chaos buffet, serving up a smorgasbord of everything you didn’t know you needed. And let’s be honest, the chaos is kind of addictive. There’s this delightful unpredictability to it you never know what’s coming next, and that’s half the fun. Plus, you know it is kinda my thing after all.

But oh, the chaos doesn’t stop there. It’s not just the variety it’s the pacing. These videos are short, punchy, and designed to trigger dopamine hits faster than you can say, “Wait, where did the last hour go?” Short-form content is like crack for the brain. You think, “Just one more video,” and suddenly you’ve watched fifty. Fifty! And the worst part? You don’t even feel guilty because you’ve convinced yourself you’re “learning new things.” Spoiler alert: you’re not. You’re just falling for the algorithm’s tricks. But at least now you know how to fold a fitted sheet like a champ.

Timers, you say? Oh, I’ve tried them. I’ve set timers on my phone, my laptop, my microwave, and even asked my smart speaker to yell at me when it’s time to stop scrolling. Guess what? Doesn’t work. My brain hears the timer buzzing and thinks, “Cute. But let me finish this last video first.” And we all know how that ends. Timers are like the well-meaning friend who says, “Shouldn’t you be working?” while you’re halfway through binge-watching a season of your favorite show. You appreciate the concern, but you’re not going to stop.

Now, let’s talk about the algorithm for a moment. Whoever designed Instagram’s algorithm deserves some sort of evil genius award. It knows you better than you know yourself. It knows that the moment you watch one cake-decorating video, you’ll want to see ten more. It knows that if you laugh at one funny meme about squirrels, it’s going to feed you an entire buffet of squirrel-related content. It’s like having a personal assistant who’s both helpful and mischievous. “You like art? Great! Here’s fifteen videos about watercolor techniques, plus three random ones about soap carving because, why not?”

And then there’s the sense of community or at least the illusion of it. Social media makes you feel like your part of something bigger, even when you’re just sitting alone on your couch, wearing sweatpants and munching on chips. You watch someone bake a cake, and suddenly it feels like you could be friends with them. You see a funny post about coffee, and you think, “Yes, this person gets me.” It’s comforting, in a weird, voyeuristic way. But it’s also the reason you keep scrolling; you don’t want to miss out on the next relatable post, the next funny meme, the next viral trend.

I know I’m not alone in this struggle. Plenty of people get sucked into the black hole of social media videos, losing track of time and forgetting their responsibilities. It’s practically a rite of passage in the digital age. But knowing I’m not alone doesn’t make it any less frustrating. I mean, I love learning new things I really do. But I’d also love to finish my work on time and maybe, just maybe, cook supper before it’s too late.

Speaking of supper, my Service Dog is giving me the side-eye again. She’s like my personal accountability buddy, reminding me to stay on track when my ADHD decides to derail my entire day. Honestly, I don’t know what I’d do without her, probably starve. She’s trained to nudge me when it’s time to eat, which is both adorable and incredibly necessary. Because let’s face it, without her, I’d still be watching videos about cake decorating and wondering if I should take up soap carving as a hobby. This is why Service Dogs are so amazing, they don’t let up till you do what your supposed to do, they are trained to use ‘willful defiance’ to insist their handler does what is necessary. You can’t tell them to lay off cause that is the whole point of using ‘willful defiance” plus wouldn’t be helpful if they didn’t nag at you.

So, what’s the solution? How do we stop getting distracted by social media videos? I wish I had a magic answer, but I don’t. Maybe it involves setting boundaries, like only allowing yourself to check Instagram during specific times of the day. Maybe it involves finding offline hobbies that are just as engaging as the chaos buffet of social media. Or maybe it’s about accepting that distractions are part of the human experience and learning to embrace them without letting them completely take over. Kinda, like I let chaos take over here and it has turned out to be the best thing I have done, and people seem to like it.

Whatever the solution is, I know one thing for sure: I need to make supper. My Service Dog is getting impatient, and honestly, I’m getting hungry. But before I go, let me just say this social media may be a distraction, but it’s also a source of joy, humor, and learning, also sometimes my muse apparently. It’s okay to get lost in it every now and then, as long as you find your way back to reality. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a date with my kitchen and a very patient dog who deserves all the treats in the world for putting up with me.

And no, I don’t regret watching those cake videos. They were stunning. What is the last social media distraction you ended up with?