Is this the year everyone quits social media?

Michael Calore: Yes.

Lauren Goode: Yes.

Michael Calore: What about you, Zoe?

Zoe Schiffer: Total screen time. I’ve looked at it before and I think it took about three hours and 40 minutes on my phone, which honestly seems pretty impressive to me. You’re raising your eyebrows, Mike, why are you doing that? Only a few minutes of that are actually on social media apps. I feel like I deserve the Medal of Honor.

Michael Calore: You really deserve the Medal of Honor. I have a timer on my phone that goes off after I’ve been on Instagram for more than 20 minutes. I hit this timer every day.

Lauren Goode: This is not a joke. And he follows this. I’ve sent Mike messages before and never heard back, and because we work across the newsroom from each other, sometimes I’ll literally walk into his office and say, “Did you see this thing I just sent you?”

Zoe Schiffer: He is thirsty.

Lauren Goode: I don’t know. He’ll say, “No, I’m out of time,” and I’ll say, “Are you committed to it? Check out the meme.”

Michael Calore: Have you ever thought about quitting apps?

Lauren Goode: All the time.

Michael Calore: All the time?

Lauren Goode: I’m imagining it at this point. What would it be like if you didn’t always feel like you had to broadcast something?

Michael Calore: Yes. What about you, Zoe?

Zoe Schiffer: Honestly, I don’t deal with them much, but I’ve been on paternity leave for a few months, so the answer is I think about putting my phone down all the time and I’m honestly amazed at the amount of time I can spend on my phone even when I’m not using social media apps. What about you?

Michael Calore: I often feel like throwing the phone across the room and never looking at it again, but then I always end up picking it up and going back to it.

Lauren Goode: This is usually after I send him some terrible meme.

Michael Calore: Yes, or I’m thinking of a joke.

Lauren Goode: right.

Michael Calore: You should skeet now. Yes. Well, today we’re going to talk about that: Is it time to ditch social media? Since there are so many types of apps and social platforms, we’ll focus on the ones we use most, text-based social sites, because we’re talking people. This is WIRED Uncanny Valleya show about the people, power and influence in Silicon Valley. I’m Michael Calore, the Director of Consumer Technology and Culture here at WIRED.