Digital life

Digital life

Maybe it's my own nostalgia for another time (I did grow up on early 2000s movies where every main character in New York City worked at a magazine). But it can't be disputed that the cold, mechanical glare of a blue screen can never compare to the natural romanticism of paper in the format of love letters, novels and diaries. It feels nice to hold something! To leaf through a real page! We forget that restaurants are in the business of tactile pleasure: It's why we collect matchboxes and postcards and, if we're lucky, a custom pen pocketed on the way out.

Some eager obituarists base their confident predictions on declining user numbers. At least in the United States, however, self-reports of media usage don't appear to bear this out. A 2025 Pew Research Center survey found that while the share of adult Americans using the most popular apps, YouTube and Facebook, has "remained relatively stable in recent years," four others-TikTok, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Reddit-have grown in overall use.

Google has updated the Google Business Profiles verification issues support form.

Most of that revenue comes from advertising, but an increasing amount of money flows in from YouTube's $14-per-month subscription plan, YouTube Premium. YouTube Premium's primary perk is the lack of ads. You also get YouTube Music Premium, Picture-in-Picture mode, playback with the screen off, and more. And yet, the concept of paying for YouTube may seem baffling to many, not only due to Premium's considerable cost and questionable value, but also because anyone can still, technically, enjoy YouTube without paying a dime.

Your phone already has built-in features that can help you stop getting distracted.To temporarily silence all those attention-seeking notifications, use the Focus setting on your iPhone or Android device. This mode is designed to stop interruptions when you want to concentrate. You can customize it by blocking specific apps or muting only when you're doing certain things, like sleeping or reading.

Despite the ways in which its forced some uncomfortable adjustment, it's ultimately allowed for a more work-life balance, with the scale slightly tipping more towards life for many. In fact, the "microshifting" trend that's recently surfaced on social media, which references the idea of breaking up your work day into shorter blocks of time so that real-life responsibilities can be squeezed in, proves that with the right kind of strategy, there's always time to do it all.

We're curled up on the couch at the end of another long day, finally getting a little refuge from the relentless busyness of modern life. Then, the smartphone lights up, announcing itself yet again, calling us back to the churn. Our phone has already buzzed, dinged, and flashed red dots 150 times today, the North American average (Stern, 2013). Each interruption has carved away a sliver of our time; each glow has pulled us into a digital world.

As the cost of living continues to rise, more people are turning to tools like ChatGPT to work smarter, streamline everyday tasks, and generate extra income without adding another job to their schedule. While many turn to ChatGPT for work-related tasks or entertainment, a growing number are also finding practical ways to use AI to boost their income. By tapping into its capabilities, even beginners can explore simple and creative ways to start earning money online.

The yellow font theory is tough to miss, and that's 100% the point. It shows up as large, neon yellow text on your screen, with either a video or a picture behind it. The text will say something poetic, and then there will often be a caption or hashtag that says #yellowfont, #yellowfonttheory, or #yellowfontbtw. Many of the most viral videos come from creator @yellowfont.halfspeed, who has dozens of aesthetically pleasing posts, some with millions of views.

For more than a decade, social media didn't just serve Black communities, immigrant communities, and young people - these communities built social media into the global force it became. They were the early adopters, the culture-makers, the organizers, the storytellers. Hyperlocal newsrooms were born on Facebook groups. WhatsApp became a lifeline for immigrant families. Instagram fed cultural reporting. Twitter shaped political journalism in real time.

When you're trying to snazz up your emails with a signature at the bottom, it's all too easy to overthink it. Gmail's signature tool offers extensive formatting options. (Want to sign off in Comic Sans? Go for it.) And typical signature-builder sites can get even more complex, with seemingly endless fonts, buttons, and shiny doodads to choose from. The truth is, you don't need all that to sign your emails in a presentable way.

My friend recently told me a story over drinks that I haven't been able to get out of my head. Her two friends, let's call them Alice and Bob, were something of a lynchpin couple in her friend group. They'd been dating for a few years and moved in together almost immediately. Everyone knew them as an item that did pretty much everything together. Alice and Bob were more like AliceandBob, really.

Every year during late November and early December, our Instagram stories are plagued with Spotify Wrapped posts of people you haven't heard from since middle school or individuals who randomly log back in online to declare to the world that they are the top 0.01% of an artist no one has ever heard of. Spotify Wrapped used to be a social holiday, an annual ritual of showing off who has the more niche top five or who amongst your friend group is the true Swiftie.

Google just rolled out a new Share option inside Google Maps... and yes, Reddit now has its own button and X is no longer there.

Your guide to getting the most out of the festive season without draining your bank account

A new study from researchers at Cornell University, published in Nature, shows that small technical glitches during a video call can have unexpectedly serious consequences. It was first brought to our attention by Gizmodo. According to the researchers, even minor sound or image glitches can create a sense of discomfort or unnaturalness that negatively affects how people see each other.

tapes, tiny TVs perched on kitchen counters, and the aforementioned house phone. For those of us who grew up during that brief time when the rapidly evolving internet lent a sense of optimism to our perception of technology, there is a comforting allure in returning to the tech we remember from our childhoods-particularly as the World Wide Web devolves to doomscrolling content and AI slop.

Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, says ensuring that South African has access to fast, reliable internet - whether at home, work, or on the move - is essential for the country's economic participation in a rapidly evolving digital world. Speaking on Thursday during a visit to the Randburg Taxi Rank in Johannesburg, Malatsi stressed that "connectivity cannot be static", highlighting the growing demand for mobile access as millions rely on public transport daily.

At a 7-Eleven convenience store in Taiwan, you can pick up a 4-inch plushie of Miffy, the bunny character from the Netherlands, a mini bento box charm complete with a realistic chicken drumstick, or a tiny plastic rotary phone. Produced by iCash Corporation (a 7-Eleven affiliate), these keychains are more than just trinkets: Each contains a contactless chip that connects it to Taiwan's elaborate stored-value payment system.

Christmas is just around the corner and while we all try to buy things early to help spread the cost, it still adds up to the same amount in the end as Lucy Nevins knows too well. She estimates that she won't get much change from €2,000 over the festive season as she buys gifts for family and friends, and stocks up the cupboards with treats to cater for visitors and her own family.

Naomi Alderman argues that one of the most useful things to know is the name of the era you're living in, and she proposes one for ours: the Information Crisis. In fact, the advent of digital media marks the third information crisis humans have lived through: the first came after the invention of writing; the second followed the printing press. These were periods of great social conflict and upheaval.

The survey of 1,458 teens ages 13 to 17, conducted from late September through early October 2025, found that 64% of teens report using AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Copilot and Character.ai. About 28% say they use chatbots daily, including 16% who use them several times a day or almost constantly. At the same time, social media use remains deeply embedded in teen routines.

My Gen Alpha daughter was born in 2016, but sometimes it feels like she's growing up in a different universe entirely. Her world is one where Roblox trends spill straight into our living room and where her understanding of "aesthetic" comes less from glossy magazines and more from avatar outfits. She'll discover a new style- preppy, coquette, baddie-while running around Obbys or shopping virtual boutiques, and somehow by the end of the week those trends have migrated into her real-life wardrobe debates.

The Online Nation report found on average, people in the UK spent four hours and 30 minutes online every day in 2025 - 31 minutes longer than in 2021. Psychologist Dr Aric Sigman told the BBC this was not a problem in itself, but what mattered was "what this time is displacing and how this may harm mental health". He added the "good news" was society was "beginning to question online time more critically".

Reading the news, it can feel like no one is partying anymore. People seem more excited to stay home than go out. Gen Z is drinking less than any other generation. Wellness clubs have replaced night clubs as the go-to spots to socialize. But partying is not dead - priorities have simply shifted, as highlighted in the Evite's Pregame Report 2026 released today.

It's funny. It's good videos that can go around. I don't really think it's an issue, one said. It gets to an extent, in my opinion, another said. There's, like, jokes and some people screaming out loud in public places. Like, nah, not funny.

Americans spent nearly $2.64 billion on OnlyFans in 2025, cementing the United States as the platform's largest and most lucrative market, new analysis reveals. Finbold, using data published by analytics firm OnlyGuider, calculated the figures across the first 334 days of the year, and the scale of spending is extraordinary. On average, Americans collectively shelled out $237 million per month, $55 million per week, and $7.9 million every day on the London-based subscription platform.