Wired: I Can’t Stop Escaping Into Google Photos’ Nostalgia Vortex

Wired: I Can’t Stop Escaping Into Google Photos’ Nostalgia Vortex . ” This spring, the coronavirus pandemic shut down college campuses and canceled gatherings across the country. For those of us so privileged that our only diagnosis is to stay home, long stretches of isolation and anxiety spirals still take a mental toll. The idea that there might be an escape hatch from the fear and grief many of us are feeling, however temporary, has never been more seductive. My own colleagues have found escapist respite in Animal Crossing and reality TV, ASMR and a Barbie Polaroid camera. On sleep-starved nights, I’ve tapped through each one of my apps, in search of solace within the safe perimeter of my phone screen. This was how I opened my long-dormant Google Photos app—and unleashed the most potent diversion of them all.”