Many Americans have fallen victim to an endless stream of notifications and the near-constant urge to check their phones, likely leading to widespread phone addiction.
A new Netflix documentary "The Social Dilemma" sheds light on that addiction and how the major platforms can contribute. Tim Kendall, CEO of Moment and former president of Pinterest, was featured in the film..
"I think the takeaway is that we've lost control over our phones," Kendall told Cheddar on Monday. "We are just sort of going through life unconscious with this device sort of tugging at us in a way that we don't control, and it's making us addicted. But I think it's also polarizing us. I think it's also making us more angry."
Kendall's current work is with Moment, a system to help users take back control over their phones. Moment provides people the tools to develop an awareness for how much time they spend looking at the screen. It also offers tips for tweaking habits and an accountability group feature to foster a healthier relationship with technology.
Kendall calls the major social media networks like YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram "big social." With big social's attention-driven business model, Kendall believes the incentive to keep users checking and posting doesn't align with a person's best interests.
While some viewers of the documentary have now vowed to delete their accounts, Kendall doesn't believe that's a sustainable response.
"I think the answer is you keep your social media accounts and you're just more deliberate and mindful around your usage," Kendall said.
He also believes big social needs to take responsibility.
"They need to come up with a plan to segue off of an attention-based business model and figure out an alternative business model, and admittedly that's going to take years," Kendall said.
Making a comparison to auto manufacturers transitioning from fossil fuels to electrification, Kendall suggested big social could work with governments, such as the auto industry has done, to help navigate a "bumpy and economically-challenging" shift with incentives.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
