iNaturalist addiction? Am I an iNat addict?!?
Probably.
I get this line quite a bit -- and I know why people say it. I'm on iNaturalist ALL of the time. When I'm working on emails or on a presentation or project, I've always got an iNat window open that I'm refreshing. When I'm outside, I've got iNat ready to go with my phone. I take photos of critters with my camera with the intent to toss them on iNat as soon as I get to my computer. For the past 10+ years, I've made iNat observations every single day! Any sane person would probably certify this as an addiction!!!
But, as I was outside looking at bugs and plants, I recognized something. iNaturalist is a tool. iNaturalist helps me engage with nature more and more. iNaturalist connects me to other naturalists that are engaging with nature. It's a tool and it's a social network.
I guess an addiction to iNaturalist is sort of like an ornithologist being addicted to binoculars, or an entomologist being addicted to bug nets. These are just tools to help us go deeper with the subject of interest. iNaturalist is about nature -- it's a way for us to go deeper with nature and unite more with other naturalists all around the world.
I think the next time I'm called an iNat addict, I'll smile, agree, and say, "You bet! I LOVE nature! Let's go outside and look for bugs." :)
Comentarios
I love nature, and addicted to photography. You are right, INat is a very important tool.
There are less healthy addictions out there. I can confidently say that using iNat does something to my brain. I have this crippling fear of heights. Like snotty-sobbing inside the gondolas at the Royal Gorge kind of fear. And when we got off the gondolas, I couldn't stop crying and shaking and I just announced "I'm going to iNat now." And for the next ten minutes I sat down and started snapping all the bees, beetles, and neat plants I saw, and my brain calmed down. It literally grounded me. After that, I was able to walk back across the bridge. Whether or not it's an actual addiction, it makes my brain better.
Also, I think for me it's 50% citizen science and 50% social media, because I literally connect with my friends through iNat. I can see where people are traveling and seeing without talking to them at all. iNat does a lot of things for me personally. The end.
An addiction to be proud of :)
Right on! From a fellow iNat addict.
Right on!
It’s actually not an addiction. It’s the love for nature, you know?
There is something very satisfying about discovering new species. Especially ones you’d never think you’d have! An addiction differs from a passion. A passion is something you love doing an addiction is something you can’t stop, sometimes even though you don’t like being addicted to something, you can’t stop. There is something so very satisfying about exploring the wonders of God’s glorious creation. You get what I’m saying here, eh?
@samantha_knight
That’s very interesting to say the least… loll
Honestly, iNat is such a healthy "addiction" in my opinion - it encourages you to connect with nature, it encourages you to be active and get outdoors, and it helps scientists. But beyond that, as an exceptionally mentally ill youngster, it is a very helpful tool to minimize some less-healthy brain patterns. I have the impulse to "check" things a LOT. Before I got into iNat, it was usually Twitter; which was bad enough for my mental health BEFORE it got rebranded, but is pretty much lobotomizing now. I was able to replace my constant refreshing there with checking iNat - now, I open iNat, see what critters people have spotted, ID species I'm familiar with, and leave feeling much less full of dread than if I'd been scrolling through Facebook or X. I can honestly say that iNat has made a measurable difference in my mental health over the past few years.
@lydia_vladimirovna_litvyak I've got well-treated ADHD, but even with medication my brain chatter persists. When I'm iNatting in particular, that chatter stops. Being outdoors helps tone it down, but iNatting stops it.
@samantha_knight
Good for you! I don’t know what brain chatter means, but, if it helps you, I’m glad it can!❤️
The number of responses to this post in such a short time indicate many of us have a similar habit of popping onto iNat to see what's going on in the world - the natural world that is - every few hours. Count me in! This is the best news broadcast out there - all nature, all the time ;-)
HELL YEAH!
Sorry, probably too excited now… forgive me
Heck yeah I mean
I love iNat too lol
Who among us ISN'T an iNat addict is the real question hahaha
Everyone in my life knows, when I cannot be found, I am iNatting - its the best addiction! Thank you for sharing your addiction with us!
I have the "Action Button" on my iPhone set to open up iNaturalist! I'm an iNat addict also -- I LOVE engaging with nature!!! Even if I'm standing in my front yard pollinator garden, I'm observing all the little insects, lizards, and other visitors to my garden. When I travel for work, I notice the different habitats, even the prominent native and invasive species. I think engaging with nature is great mental therapy for many people, myself included.
Best type of addiction!
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