minutiae: Real Life

I read about Minutae in the NYT Wirecutter it sounded intriguing so I downloaded it right away. Instructions for using the app are a bit vague but as they are few it doesn’t take long to figure it out. I used the option for turning it off at night but finally opted to have it on all the time. My phone I by my pillow, the app sound wakes me up and I let it take the photo. Not the most interesting photos but I wouldn’t have them if it weren’t for Minutae. Click on the tiny icon below your photo to see someone else’s photos. It’s great fun to see where they are from. All over the world. The first ones I saw were from Finland where I had been this past summer visiting relatives! I wish I had kept a list of where they were from the get-go. So many cute kitty photos far fewer pups. Figuring how see other’s photos was the most confusing. I have found it worthwhile to pay for it to get the extra time. LOVE LOVE LOVE this app. I was unhappy that I was unable to read where paired photos were from when Minutae went off in the middle of the night due to not enough light for my old eyes. I now take a screen shot to look at in the morning so glad I did as I had Ukraine the other night! I did have to search the country name as it was as they spell it.

I got this app because I couldn’t follow the BeReal trend as well as intended, and I wanted something to capture the every day moments once the idea was in my head. I didn’t realize that this would turn into me capturing my mothers last moments. Minutiae is fun and carefree, which made me fall into the habit of capturing every moment I can. When my mom was put on hospice in December the only pictures she took were when my minutiae went off, because I would be so excited she couldn’t say no. The hospice process was longer than expected, and while no one wants to be remembered as ill, it was a blessing for me to care for my mother and I’m so thankful that I did get pictures of us during the time. I never would have thought to document those moments when I was in them, but I’m so thankful I did. My mom passed on May 19, 2023, and I am thirsty for every drop of her existence. Start your minutiae habit now, you have no idea what moments you will want to drown in later. *With the sentimental junk over- It is such a cool idea. You get to see a random user’s moments for a few seconds after you capture yours if you’d like. What a great way to feel some human connection! I regularly see users from other areas of the world with the same mess of life going on around them. It’s humbling! This is such an easy app to really enjoy, it doesn’t take more than a minute away from your day.

So often these days our lives become muted by social media. The need to highlight the cool, amazing, wonderful things we’re doing (not any of the seemingly boring, mundane, or less appealing sides of life). Minutiae aims to fix that. By surprising you with a notification at a random minute each day, you have exactly one minute to take a picture of whatever is in front of you. Yes, I happen to miss almost 50% of the notifications as I’m sleeping or away from my phone, I count these as wins as I’m just living my life (away from my phone). The moments I do catch a notification, I get to capture a random moment in time of my life, like a time capsule! This is my 2nd time participating in Minutiae and I look forward to the digital copies of my photos at the end of this 4 year stint. Last stint I was reminded of my living room in my old house, getting to see something I made for dinner, a cute cat pose on my couch, some friends I was hanging out with, or pictures of my wall from my bed. I love my Minutiae photos as they show me my life as it was - no filter, no planning. Just the special moments in the days of my life I would otherwise take for granted. If you’re looking for a new way to interact with social media or a new perspective on life, Minutiae is a fun social experiment bringing you just that!