23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Fired Federal Worker Flirts on Finch
After losing my job at a federal agency in a recent wave of terminations, I went out for drinks with my friend Deb, who still had her job (at least for the time being) at a different agency. Exhausted, miserable and a half-glass of wine deep in the company of another federal worker, I indulged myself in a little public cry.
Deb understood. 'Are you sleeping and eating?' she asked.
'Sort of,' I said, wiping away tears. 'But I'm definitely not drinking water.' (My friend Paige, knowing I had become an over-caffeinated, dehydrated, cover-letter-writing husk, had been sending me daily text reminders to 'Drink water!')
'You should get on Finch,' Deb said, pulling out her phone to show me.
Finch is a so-called self-care app that claims you 'take care of your pet,' a virtual bird, 'by taking care of yourself.' Deb's bird on the app, Chickadee, wore purple aviator glasses and a chic chore coat and had a turtle 'micropet.'
Chickadee got rainbow coins whenever Deb completed self-care goals such as 'get out of bed,' 'brush teeth' and 'drink water.' And Chickadee could send Chickadee's friends (i.e. Deb's friends' birds) virtual well-wishes. These included hugs (accompanied by a heart emoji), reminders to drink water (water glass emoji), gratitude (heart face) and more.
At first, it didn't appeal. I've been in therapy and don't generally need to celebrate remembering to brush my teeth. But when Deb texted me her promo link, which included an adorable llama micropet named 'Oatmeal,' I couldn't help but click. After downloading it, I found myself in possession of a baby bird. I named her Buddy, and I started Finching.
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