At this point, most of us feel we couldn't live without our smartphones. With texting, email, and hundreds of apps available, smartphones rarely leave the palm of our hands. And this dependence is enabled by addictive apps and feedback mechanisms called intermittent variable rewards.
Cody Gough is an editor and podcast host at Curiosity.com. He explains how developers have engineered apps so that they give consumers rewards every time the app is visited. This increases engagement frequency and time. In the new age of advertising, consumer time is money.
Gough offers tips to kick cellphone addiction. He recommends charging your phone in a different room and avoiding mindless scrolling when possible. He also suggests keeping other tech and toys handy for downtime. Packing a book or Kindle for your commute will prevent mindless Twitter scrolling.
With the release of Apple's iOS 16.4 on Monday, a new batch of 31 emojis are now available to those who like to spice up their texts. The line-up includes new animals such as a donkey, a moose, and a goose; new heart colors, including the much-requested plain pink heart; and other oddities such as a biting lip, a melting face, and a pregnant man.
Apple Pay is getting in on the buy now pay later boom with a feature allowing users to split purchases into four separate payments over six weeks at no additional cost or interest.
San Francisco-based technology startup Illumix just closed a $18 million Series A round of funding, and in a rare move for the Shark Tank star, Mark Cuban contributed.
