My Clingy Ex
My clingy ex won't leave me alone. They email me. Sometimes up to six times a day, but always a minimum of three times a day.
They're always trying to get me to come back. Always telling me that I'm missing out by not being with them. Telling me how much better my life would be if I go back to them. How much fun I could be having.
You all know my ex, so I don't mind showing you what their emails look like.
My clingy ex is, of course, Instagram.
Since logging out of my account three weeks ago, I have received 71 emails from Instagram. Typically they send an email in the morning, one around midday, and another in the evening, all of them trying to tempt me back by namedropping the accounts of friends or celebrities who have posted recently.
The best part about their desperate-clingy-ex kind of emailing is that I can't unsubscribe from the emails without logging back into my account. It's kind of genius. But I refuse to do it, so instead I've had to just block the email addresses — of which there are multiple because they can't make it that easy for you to get away.
I've had a day of peace today, so I think I may finally have blocked all the email addresses they use to try to lure back those of us who have logged off.
I was worried that the emails might work, that I might feel tempted and go crawling back to see what's happening. But truthfully I haven't felt that urge. I don't feel like I'm missing out at all.
When friends do really want me to see something they screenshot it and send it on to me in a text. Like this: thanks Hannah
I've also spent the weekends since logging off spending quality time with people. A weekend away to visit friends, playing disc golf and boardgames. A weekend in the city with my family. When I've wanted to share something I've done with people, I send them the photo directly instead of uploading it to an Instagram post.
If it weren't for the emails, I don't think I would've thought about Instagram or what I'm "missing out on" at all. And now that those are drying up and I've tallied up the numbers to share them with you, I'm hopeful it won't be crossing my mind again.
So, if you're also thinking about breaking up with this specific ex, remember this: they can be bloody clingy, so turn of any email notifications in the app before logging out — or get ready to spend some time blocking them.
Happy Monday, friends!