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The Turning Point: My Decision to Reduce Screen Time – A Regretful Choice

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I
unlocked my iPhone just as my weekly screen time notifications popped up—an accidental dismissal before I could take a screenshot—and a wave of frustration washed over me. After dedicating an exhausting week to minimizing my phone usage, aiming to reduce my daily screen time from over four hours to under one, I hoped to enhance my mental wellbeing (and maybe even launch a career as an inspirational speaker). Yet, my efforts felt futile as I couldn’t post any proof online showcasing my offline status. I even contemplated using Photoshop to fabricate a screen time report and scoured Google for a way to retrieve notifications (to no avail).

Over the last decade or so, I’ve tried various self-improvement approaches. I’ve read 105 books in a year, unintentionally eliminated sugar (even from fruit) for a spell, and dabbled in shamanism, including interpretive dance. While I might suggest mastering cooking, driving, and typing with all fingers, I can’t seem to reach myself since I’ve stopped staring at my phone.




Exchange one obsession for another… Joe Stone of Tenerife.
Photo: Courtesy of Joe Stone

“Project Screen Time” was born after I listened to a podcast where comedians recommended avoiding social media for two hours after waking. Absorbing this advice—albeit from an amateur who couldn’t quite trace its origin—I decided to avoid checking Instagram first thing in the morning… and it worked. Surprisingly, steering clear of a barrage of other people’s abs before I’d fully woken up actually lifted my spirits. Even more impressively, I found I could usually hold off until after lunch if I didn’t see anything I felt compelled to react to. This brief moment of clarity quickly morphed into a whirlwind, typical of my approach to new challenges.

I swapped one fixation (constantly checking my phone) for another (intentionally not doing so). In the second week, my screen time plummeted to two hours a day. By the third week, it was down to one-and-a-half hours, and I decided to aim for under 60 minutes. A part of me was impressed that this newfound ability was working well and I appeared to be normal. However, I couldn’t keep this “gift” to myself, gradually boring my friends, acquaintances, and even service workers with tales of my newfound discipline.

Eventually, my quest took on new disruptions. I resented having to pull up maps on my phone, and while cycling, I often found myself lost. Want to show someone a photo or meme? Sorry, you’ll have to Google it on their device instead. I even hesitated to order an Uber after a night out, enduring the agony of watching the app slowly crawl toward my location while my screen time ticked away.


My frustration amplified when my screen time statistics didn’t reflect my efforts. I barely glanced at my phone by 2 PM, yet the data indicated I had used it for 36 minutes. Conspiratorial thoughts began to surface. My screen time report was divided into blue (social), turquoise (entertainment), and orange (productivity and finance). Yet, the majority of my time appeared as a prominent gray. What on earth could that gray signify?!

Eventually, “screen time” was added to my list of taboo topics (along with Taylor Swift’s music and lore, and my interest in Ron DeSantis) that were off-limits at home. My lowest moment occurred while sharing my weekly statistics with a friend. He inquired why “Settings” was my third most-used app. That was simply where I went to check my screen time.

My meltdown over not being able to celebrate my record low screen time (51 minutes a day!) served as a wake-up call. What started as a quest to reduce screen time morphed into a new phone addiction. Instead of escaping the urge to seek validation online, I found an alternate way to gain approval. Nevertheless, all was not lost. This realization nudged me toward the acceptance that I would likely never be a moderate person. I can’t rely on self-regulation (my latest regime—skin care—involves LED masks that automatically shut off after 10 minutes; I fear wearing them in the office could evoke comparisons to a vibrant Hannibal Lecter).

Ultimately, I gave up trying to recapture the elusive Screen Time Report. Instead, I resolved to share fewer aesthetic charts from settings that I could post online. Almost instantly, my DMs exploded with queries about how I managed to refrain from scrolling. I responded to every single one, and a rush of dopamine flooded my reward centers. That day, my screen time was recorded at 3 hours and 36 minutes.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

China’s CO2 Emissions Are Declining: Is This the Turning Point?

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Floating solar farm in Huainan, China is part of the country’s renewable energy expansion

Imago/Alamy

As the world’s leading emitter of carbon dioxide, China has recorded a slight decrease in emissions over the past year, despite an increase in electricity demand. This development signals a promising shift towards cleaner energy sources replacing fossil fuels, although there remains the potential for emissions to rise again.

This information comes from an analysis of China’s economic and energy statistics conducted by Lauri Myllivirta of the Finnish research organization, Research Centre on Energy and Clean Air. A report published in Carbon Brief notes that China’s CO2 emissions dropped by 1% in the past 12 months, with a 1.6% decline reported in the first quarter of 2025 compared to the previous year.

This is not the first instance of reduced CO2 emissions in China; a similar drop occurred in 2022 due to the economic slowdown during the COVID-19 lockdown. However, this marks the first time emissions have decreased alongside increased electricity usage. “This significantly raises the likelihood that the current emissions reduction can be sustained,” said Myllivirta.

The primary driver for this trend is China’s significant expansion of solar, wind, and nuclear energy, which are gradually reducing the reliance on fossil fuel combustion for electricity production. Additionally, the shift away from carbon-heavy industries like cement and steel is contributing to this downward trend, along with a rise in electric vehicle use, which decreases oil demand.

If current trends continue, China’s carbon emissions may keep declining. This sustained drop suggests the country may have reached its peak emissions several years ahead of its 2030 target. According to Myllivirta, this represents significant progress in both tangible and psychological terms in the fight against climate change.

“If Chinese leaders recognize the importance of resolving emissions issues, it could position China as a stronger and more constructive participant in international climate discussions, inspiring other nations to follow suit,” he stated.

Nonetheless, various factors could lead to a resurgence in emissions levels. For example, extreme summer temperatures might drive up electricity consumption for air conditioning. Droughts, like those in 2022 and 2023, could impair hydroelectric output, necessitating increased reliance on coal and gas plants, as noted by David Fishman of the Lantau Group, a consulting firm in Hong Kong.

There is also uncertainty regarding the long-term impact of tariffs imposed during the Trump administration, which may introduce volatility to China’s emissions projections, as Myllivirta highlighted.

In the long run, China will need to harness hundreds of gigawatts annually to satisfy energy demand. Achieving these objectives will depend on the targets set by the Chinese government in its upcoming five-year plan, due in 2026, and on commitments made under the Paris Agreement leading up to this year’s COP30 Summit.

“The trajectory of global climate stability does not hinge solely on China’s actions this summer, but understanding what occurs with China’s emissions in the upcoming years and decades will be crucial,” Myllivirta concluded.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Removing barriers is essential for achieving true powerfulism, not turning a blind eye to them.

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Kent Nishimura/Los Angeles Times Getty Images

In the latter half of the 18th century, mathematicians and physicists Joseph Lewis Lagrange made a shocking discovery. His star student, Monsieur Le Blanc, was actually a woman.

Lagrange was taught by Ecall Police Technique in France. As a result, students were able to receive lecture notebooks and submit their jobs without going directly to the university. This was especially useful for Sophie Germann, who was forced to study mathematics despite objections from his parents. She picked up the expired student and may have escaped, but Lagrange realized the vast and sudden improvement of Le Blanc's work and demanded that she would meet directly.

Germain is not the only person who pays attention to how the name used is perceived. As the psychologist Kion West explains here, experiments using the same recruitment application belong to white people who belong to blacks. It indicates that it is not more successful than the person who thinks.

In recent years, many organizations have adopted measures to compete with these results, such as deleting names from recruiting applications. These measures fall under the umbrella of diversity, fairness, and inclusion (DEI). But now, US President Donald Trump has ordered government agencies to dismantle the DEI program, promising that society is a “merit base.”

Trump approaches to diversity, fairness, and wrapping are unlikely to create talentedism

Some DEI Initiative are based on stronger evidence than other Initiative. As the resume test shows, the benefits alone are not enough to overcome people's prejudice, but many researchs show it. Anonymous application tends to improve the results In the case of a blessed group. On the other hand, unconscious biastration is a one -time session in the form of a single session aimed at to make employees recognize snap -judgments for people based on races and gender. It turns out that there is almost no difference in changing people's behavior。

The harsh approach to Trump's Day, not evidence, is unlikely to produce his remarkable consequences of his remarkable ability. Instead of developing organizations that are encouraging the best people to prosper, the current efforts seem to promote the culture of fear. Government worker We are warned of “adverse effects” because we did not end DEI work.

Thankfully, Germain did not have such results. Lagrange accepted who she was and defended mathematical development. Nevertheless, she still used Le Blanc's pseudonyms in some communications. The most prominent is that when she discovered her true identity, she has “courage, extraordinary talent, and excellent genius.” If we want to prosper more germen, we must recognize and deal with the barriers they face.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Turning wastewater into fuel and fertilizer

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Farmers rely on ammonia to fertilize their crops.

Patty Calfee/Getty Images

The environmentally friendly technology uses multi-chamber chemical reactors to turn wastewater into ammonia and harmless by-products. This sustainable alternative requires much less energy than traditional methods to produce this important chemical.

Hundreds of millions of tons of ammonia are used every year in industries such as agriculture, refrigeration systems, paper and cleaning products. Producing this amount of chemical uses about 2% of total energy consumption and accounts for 1.4% of global carbon dioxide emissions.

Part of this environmental cost comes from traditional ammonia production methods, which require high temperatures and pressures. To make ammonia production more sustainable, Fengyan Chen Researchers at Rice University in Texas hoped to translate that technology into a room-temperature reactor.

Their reactor takes in water laced with nitrates, a nitrogen compound commonly found in wastewater, such as industrial or agricultural runoff contaminated with nitrogen fertilizers. When the nitrate water enters the first of three chambers, electrodes, like those found in a battery, create an electrochemical reaction that turns the liquid into its three components. Only ammonia remains in the reactor’s first chamber, purified water flows out of the second chamber, and oxygen flows into the third.

Because ammonia contains only nitrogen and hydrogen, the electrochemical reaction requires no other components than wastewater, and the purified water produced is clean enough to meet World Health Organization (WHO) regulations for drinking water.

Similar reactors have been tested before, Chen says, but the electrodes couldn’t shuffle charges at a high enough voltage for the reaction to work unless the wastewater was mixed with large amounts of salt. Chen and his colleagues made the device more practical by filling the central chamber with a porous material that acts as the salt, allowing wastewater to be fed directly into the reactor without any additives.

In tests using water samples with realistic nitrate concentrations, the reactor processed 100 milliliters in about one hour and continued to operate without problems for 10 days straight. The performance of this reactor is comparable to previous, more complex reactor designs.

Chen says the team only tested the reactor in the lab using nitrate-rich water, not actual wastewater samples that contain more than just nitrates, but the researchers envision local businesses and farms eventually using the reactors to recycle their wastewater, rather than sending it to faraway treatment facilities where it would waste its ammonia-producing potential.

In the best case scenario, the farm would have its own solar- or wind-powered reactor. Farmers would run local wastewater through the device, which would immediately Reusing ammonia It is mined for fuel and fertilizer.

“It’s still at the academic research level, but this is my ultimate dream,” Chen says.

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  • Chemical /
  • Sustainability

Source: www.newscientist.com

Elon Musk’s Trip to China leads to Rapid Progress, a Turning Point for Tesla and the Auto Industry

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Reports suggest that Elon Musk’s visit to China led to an immediate benefit with a deal for Tesla to utilize mapping data from Baidu, a major web search company, to introduce driver-assistance technology to the largest car market globally. This marks a significant advancement.

Over the weekend, Musk made a surprise visit to China. He shared a photo of his meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang on the social network X, which he acquired in 2022.

According to sources referenced by Bloomberg News, Baidu, a dominant force in Chinese web search, will offer mapping and navigation services to aid Tesla in implementing driver-assistance technology labeled as “Full Self-Driving” (FSD). The provision of mapping services, crucial for driver-assistance technology, is strictly regulated by the Chinese government.

Despite its name, FSD does not enable autonomous driving. It necessitates a driver who is prepared to take control at any moment. Launching in China could enhance Tesla’s position in the competitive market there and boost revenue. The service costs $8,000 or $99 (£80) per month, but is not accessible in many countries.

Musk has had confrontational interactions with politicians in the past, criticizing U.S. President Joe Biden and entering a dispute in Brazil over censorship issues on X, formerly Twitter. However, his approach towards China’s second-ranking official, Li, was more conciliatory, expressing being “honored” to meet him.

Musk’s interactions with China have been complex due to various business ties. X is blocked by the Chinese government due to strict censorship policies. Additionally, there were concerns from the Chinese government regarding an incident involving a satellite launched by SpaceX, Musk’s rocket company, coming close to their space station.

However, Tesla operates a factory in Shanghai, and its Model Y was the third best-selling electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle in China in March 2024, according to CleanTechnica. BYD, a Chinese competitor to Tesla in electric car sales, has two top-selling models.

The news of Musk’s visit and the partnership with Baidu were met with enthusiasm by Tesla investors, who view potential self-driving capabilities as crucial for Tesla’s position as the most valuable automaker globally. Tesla’s stock price rose by 6% in premarket trading in New York.

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Dan Ives, a technology analyst at Wedbush investment bank, mentioned in a client note that Tesla’s future standing relies heavily on FSD and autonomous driving. He emphasized the significance of making FSD accessible in China, a step that appears to be imminent.

Source: www.theguardian.com

Turning Stress into a Positive Force: Hacking Strategies for a Stress-Free Life

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Many of us have felt some amount of stress over the past few years. Exhibit A for me is my teeth. A recent trip to the dentist confirmed that I had been clenching my jaw for months due to the pandemic. This was the result of the normal stress of deadlines, compounded by the demands of two young children, four of whom had broken bones.

A broken tooth is a small fry. Last year, the American Psychological Association Two-thirds of people in the US report feeling more stressed due to the pandemic, found, and predicted “a mental health crisis that could have serious health and social consequences for years to come.” Increased risks of diabetes, depression, and cardiovascular disease are all associated with high stress levels. Just thinking about it makes me feel stressed.

But maybe we just need to think about stress differently. At least, that's the surprising conclusion of researchers studying the mind-body relationship. They say there are natural benefits to feeling stressed, and if we change the way we “think about stress,” we can turn things around and make stress have a positive impact on our lives. maybe. Fortunately, there are some simple hacks that can help you do this, and you can expect to see improved physical health, clarity of thought, increased mental strength, and increased productivity. Masu.

There's no denying that too much stress can have a negative impact on your body and mind. In the West, it has been linked to all six major causes of death: cancer, heart disease, liver disease, accidents, lung disease, and suicide. Your immune system may be weakened, making you more susceptible to infections and less infectious.

Source: www.newscientist.com

‘Divergent Views on Personalization in Big Tech Prompt New EU Calls for Default Turning Off of Profiling-Based Content Feeds’

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Another policy tug-of-war may be emerging in the European Union over Big Tech’s content recommendation systems, with the European Commission ruling out profiling-based content feeds (also known as “personalization” engines that process user data). Many members of Congress are calling for the government to curb this. To determine what content to display. The tracking and profiling of users by mainstream platforms to power “personalized” content feeds has long raised concerns about potential harm to individuals and democratic societies, and whether this technology is fueling social media addiction. , some critics say poses mental health risks to vulnerable people. There are also concerns that this technology is undermining social cohesion through its tendency to amplify divisive and polarizing content that can push individual anger and anger towards political extremes.

Of letter, 17 MPs from political groups including S&D, the Left, the Greens, EPP and Renew Europe have signed the petition, which calls for recommendation systems on technology platforms to be switched off by default. The idea emerged during negotiations over the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA). ), but it was not included in the final regulations because it did not have a democratic majority. Instead, EU lawmakers agreed to transparency measures for recommender systems, along with a requirement that large platforms (so-called VLOPs) must provide at least one content feed that is not based on profiling. But in a letter, lawmakers are calling for a complete dedefault on the technology. “Interaction-based recommender systems, especially hyper-personalized systems, pose a serious threat to the public and society as a whole, as they prioritize emotional and extreme content and target individuals who are particularly likely to be provoked. ” they wrote. “This insidious cycle exposes users to sensational and dangerous content, prolonging their engagement with the platform in order to maximize ad revenue.”

Amnesty International’s experiment on TikTok showed that the algorithm were exposed to videos glorifying suicide within just an hour. Additionally, Meta’s internal research found that 64% of joins to extremist groups were due to recommended tools, and that extremists It has become clear that we are exacerbating the spread of ideology.” The phone is: Draft online safety guidelines for video sharing platforms, was announced earlier this month by the Irish Media Commission (Coimisiún na Meán). The committee will be responsible for overseeing the DSA when regulations become enforceable for covered services next February. Coimisiún na Meán is currently consulting on guidance proposing that video sharing platforms “take steps to ensure that profiling-based recommendation algorithms are turned off by default.” The publication of the guidance occurred after the following episodes. violent civil unrest in Dublin The country’s police authorities suggested the attack was fabricated by far-right “hooligans” with false information spread on social media and messaging apps. And earlier this week, Irish Civil Liberties and Human Rights Council ICCL, which has been campaigning on digital rights issues for many years, also called on the European Commission to support the Koimisiun na Mean proposal and to make it public. my report They say social media algorithms are tearing society apart and are calling for personalized feeds to be turned off by default.

In their letter, MEPs said they also accepted proposals from Ireland’s media regulator, which similarly tend to promote “emotional and extremist content” that they say could undermine civic cohesion. It suggests that it “effectively” addresses issues related to recommender systems. The letter also references recently adopted regulations. Report by the European Parliament On the addictive design of online services and consumer protection, they highlight the negative impact of recommender systems on online services, which involve the profiling of individuals, especially minors. , which aims to keep users on the platform for as long as possible, thus manipulating them.” Artificial amplification of hatred, suicide, self-harm, and disinformation. ” “We call on the European Commission to follow Ireland’s lead and not only approve this measure under TRIS, but also take decisive action.” [Technical Regulations Information System] In addition to following the steps, you can also recommend this measure as a mitigation measure for large online platforms to take. [VLOPs] 35(1)(c) of the Digital Services Act, to give citizens meaningful control over their data and online environment,” the MEPs wrote, adding: “The protection of our citizens, especially young people, is of paramount importance” We believe that the European Commission has an important role to play in ensuring a safe digital environment for everyone. We look forward to your prompt and decisive action on this issue. ”

Under TRIS, EU member states must submit proposals before they are adopted into national law so that the EU can carry out a legal review to ensure that they are consistent with the bloc’s rules, in this case the DSA. draft technical regulations must be notified to the European Commission. . This system means that domestic laws that seek to “golden” EU regulations are unlikely to pass scrutiny. As such, the Irish Media Commission’s proposal to turn off video platforms’ recommender systems by default appears to go further than the text of the relevant legislation and may not survive the TRIS process. be. However, no company has gone that far yet. And clearly not the kind of step that ad-funded, engagement-driven platforms would choose as their commercial default.

When we asked, the European Commission declined public comment on the MEP’s letter (or the ICCL report). Instead, the spokesperson pointed to the “clear” obligations regarding her VLOP’s recommendation system set out in Article 38 of the DSA. This mandate requires platforms to provide at least one non-profiling-based option for each of these systems. However, we were able to discuss the profiling feed debate with EU officials who provided background to speak more freely. They agreed that platforms could choose to turn off profiling-based recommender systems by default as part of DSA systemic risk mitigation compliance, but they still do not have initiatives that stray too far from their own policies. I have confirmed that the platform you are using does not exist. So far, we have only seen examples where non-profiling feeds are optionally provided to users, such as on TikTok and Instagram, in order to meet the aforementioned (Article 38) DSA requirement to provide users with the option of circumvention. not. Personalization of this type of content. However, this requires active opt-out by the user. On the other hand, setting a feed to non-profiling by default is clearly a stronger type of content regulation, as it requires no user action to enable. EU officials we spoke to said that the European Commission, in its capacity as enforcer of the DSA on VLOPs, is considering a recommender system, including the formal process initiated in relation to X earlier this week. admitted that. The recommendation system has also been the focus of some of the formal requests for information the commission has sent to his VLOP, including one to Instagram that focuses on child safety risks. they spoke. And they agreed that the EU could use its enforcer role, or law-abiding power, to force large platforms to stop personalized feeds by default. However, they indicated that the commission would only take such action if it determined it would be effective in mitigating a particular risk. The official noted that multiple types of profiling-based content feeds are in place, even on a platform-by-platform basis, and emphasized that each must be considered in context.

More generally, they appealed for “nuance” in the debate over the risks of recommendation systems. They suggested that the Commission’s approach here would be to conduct a case-by-case assessment of concerns and advocate for data-driven policy interventions on VLOPs rather than blanket measures. did. After all, it’s a collection of platforms as diverse as video-sharing and social media giants, as well as retail and information services and (most recently) porn sites. The risk that an enforcement decision will not be selected by legal challenge in the absence of solid evidence to support the decision is clearly a concern for the Commission. The official also wants to collect more information before making a decision on whether to recommend.

Source: techcrunch.com