📡 Social media addiction. For real.
Welcome to the first Pulse of 2019!
Happy new year! I know, it’s a bit late, but I took a couple of weeks off. I’m at point that I’m thinking of decreasing the number of projects I’m involved in so I can focus more on a few of them that I find more interesting and pays off…
Meanwhile, if you want to follow the tech news in real time, try iX News on Telegram. I’ll try to keep the news on Pulse to a minimum, but hopefully with commentary.
Thanks for sticking around :)
- Ben
🧠 Insights
Social media users & impaired decision making - Credit: Carl Raw on Unsplash
Excessive social media users demonstrate impaired decision making in the Iowa Gambling Task
New research reconfirms that social media addiction is a more serious matter than just the casual jokes. A paper published in the Journal of Behavioral Addictions, indicates that people who use social media sites heavily actually display some of the behavioral hallmarks of someone addicted to cocaine or heroin.
Read more on TechCrunch.
📊 Statistics
Top social networking app of 2018 - Credit: SensorTower
The top social networking app by downloads in 2018 was Facebook at more than 710 million new installs, with nearly 25 percent of those from India. The top 10 apps are shown above. App download estimates are from Sensor Tower’s Store Intelligence platform.
The next most downloaded social networking app was TikTok, followed by Instagram, Snapchat, and Vigo Video. Facebook and TikTok accounted for 50 percent of the top 10 apps’ total installs.
Read more on SensorTower.
The frustration with poor battery life - Credit: GlobalWebIndex
Which Smartphone Features Really Matter to Consumers?
Fancy new features may create the biggest buzz, but improvements to the core phone features are actually likely to drive more sales. What frustrates UK and U.S. consumers the most about their current handset is poor battery life, which stands significantly above all other frustrations.
Read more on GlobalWebIndex.
📱 Tools & Apps
Squad: Screen share with friends from a group video chat ✨ [iOS]
Foods Dogs can Eat: An app to check human foods for your dog 🐶
🎧 Audio Stimulation
💤 Driftin' Off
A playlist of smooth tunes featuring Lana Del Rey, Jasmine Thompson, Ciaran Lavery, EDEN, and others.
🎮 Fun Stuff
There's a lot of truth to that!
This is not goodbye...
This is a comeback - and it. feels. GOOOD!