Tech

When Your Phone Pings, It Hijacks Your Brain for 7 Seconds, Study Finds

The ping or buzz of your phone that lets you know a new message has arrived is hard to ignore. But it can mean trouble when you’re trying to concentrate on a task, according to a new study that will be published in the June issue of the journal Computers in Human Behavior.. The study found that whenever we receive a message notification, it interrupts our concentration for 7 seconds. It turns out that the type of information that we see in the notification also matters. The more personally relevant the notification, the larger the distraction.. “This interruption likely arises from several mechanisms, such as [a notification’s] perceptual prominence, the conditioning acquired through repeated exposure, and the possible social significance,” Hippolyte Fournier, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland and the study’s first author, told CNET.. While 7 seconds may not seem like much, we get a lot of notifications throughout the day, and those seconds can add up.. “We observed that both the volume of notifications and how often individuals check their smartphones were linked to greater disruption,” Fournier said. “This pattern suggests that the fragmented nature of smartphone use, rather than simply total usage duration, may be a key factor in understanding how digital technologies influence attentional processes.”. Attention hijack. The study used a Stroop task, a test that measures how quickly you can process information and how well you can focus. Colored words flash across a screen for the test. The font of each word is one color, but the text of the word is a different color. So the word “blue” might be written in green font.. You have to identify the font color and ignore the color that the word spells out. It’s a lot harder than it sounds. You can take the test yourself using this YouTube video.. The researchers recruited 180 university students for the study. The students were randomly split up into three groups. All students received a Stroop task, and notifications popped up on the screen as they completed the test. But the researchers slightly changed the experiment for each group.. The researchers told the first group that the screen was mirroring their personal phones, so the students thought they were seeing their real notifications.. The second group saw pop-ups on the screen that looked like real social media notifications, but the group knew they were false. This helped the researchers test how learned habits impact attention, without personal relevance.. The third group saw only blurry notifications, with illegible text. The researchers used this test to determine how the visual distraction of an unexpected pop-up affected the group’s attention.. The notifications slowed students’ ability to process information by about 7 seconds across all three groups. But for students who thought they were getting real notifications, the delay was more pronounced.. “Although it is well documented that notifications can a

Tech

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for March 29, #1744

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.. Today’s Wordle puzzle is kind of a funny word, with some unusual letters I don’t often guess. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.. Read more: New Study Reveals Wordle’s Top 10 Toughest Words of 2025. Today’s Wordle hints. Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.. Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats. Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.. Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels. Today’s Wordle answer has one vowel.. Wordle hint No. 3: First letter. Today’s Wordle answer begins with C.. Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter. Today’s Wordle answer ends with P.. Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning. Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a foolish, easily tricked person.. TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER. Today’s Wordle answer is CHUMP.. Yesterday’s Wordle answer. Yesterday’s Wordle answer, March 28, No. 1743, was AFOOT.. Recent Wordle answers. March 24, No. 1739: BROOD. March 25, No. 1740: WISER. March 26, No. 1741: BEFIT. March 27, No. 1742: IVORY. What’s the best Wordle starting word?. Don’t be afraid to use our tip sheet ranking all the letters in the alphabet by frequency of uses. In short, you want starter words that lean heavy on E, A and R, and don’t contain Z, J and Q.. Some solid starter words to try:. ADIEU. TRAIN. CLOSE. STARE. NOISE

Tech

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for March 29 #756

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.. Today’s NYT Strands puzzle is fairly difficult. Some of the answers are difficult to unscramble, so if you need hints and answers, read on.. I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.. Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far. Hint for today’s Strands puzzle. Today’s Strands theme is: A bit peckish?. If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Feathered friends’ food.. Clue words to unlock in-game hints. Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints, but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:. FORT, FORTS, SEEN, STORE, BATE, RATE, FILE, LIFE, LIFER, TIES, FORTH, SILL. Answers for today’s Strands puzzle. These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight, but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:. BUGS, SUET, FRUIT, SEEDS, MILLET, NECTAR, BERRIES. Today’s Strands spangram. The completed NYT Strands puzzle for March 29, 2026. NYT/Screenshot by CNET. Today’s Strands spangram is FORTHEBIRDS. To find it, start with the F that’s the first letter to the left on the top row, and wind over and down.. Toughest Strands puzzles. Here are some of the Strands topics I’ve found to be the toughest.. #1: Dated slang. Maybe you didn’t even use this lingo when it was cool. Toughest word: PHAT.. #2: Thar she blows! I guess marine biologists might ace this one. Toughest word: BALEEN or RIGHT.. #3: Off the hook. Again, it helps to know a lot about sea creatures. Sorry, Charlie. Toughest word: BIGEYE or SKIPJACK.

Tech

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for March 29, #1022

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.. Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is a fun one. You might recognize the four green group words right away. Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.. The Times has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including the number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.. Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time. Hints for today’s Connections groups. Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.. Yellow group hint: You might spot these while driving around.. Green group hint: Everyone boogie!. Blue group hint: Certain silent letter.. Purple group hint: Zuckerberg is one.. Answers for today’s Connections groups. Yellow group: Images seen on the street.. Green group: Retro dance crazes.. Blue group: Silent “P.”. Purple group: ____ mark.. Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words. What are today’s Connections answers?. The completed NYT Connections puzzle for March 29, 2026. NYT/Screenshot by CNET. The yellow words in today’s Connections. The theme is images seen on the street. The four answers are graffiti, mural, poster and stencil.. The green words in today’s Connections. The theme is retro dance crazes. The four answers are hustle, mashed potato, robot and twist.. The blue words in today’s Connections. The theme is silent “p.” The four answers are corps, coup, psycho and receipt.. The purple words in today’s Connections. The theme is ____ mark. The four answers are beauty, check, question and stretch.. Toughest Connections puzzles. We’ve made a note of some of the toughest Connections puzzles so far. Maybe they’ll help you see patterns in future puzzles.. #5: Included “things you can set,” such as mood, record, table and volleyball.. #4: Included “one in a dozen,” such as egg, juror, month and rose.. #3: Included “streets on screen,” such as Elm, Fear, Jump and Sesame.. #2: Included “power ___” such as nap, plant, Ranger and trip.. #1: Included “things that can run,” such as candidate, faucet, mascara and nose.

Tech

Last Chance to Buy the Kids’ Favorite Nex Playground Before It Gets a Price Hike

Starting April 1, the movement-based gaming console Nex Playground will cost $299, a $50 increase from its original $249 price. In a letter to customers on its site, Nex co-founder and CEO David Lee said the company can no longer absorb rising production costs.. “Like many consumer electronics companies, we’ve worked hard to absorb these cost increases for as long as possible,” Lee wrote. “However, at current levels, it’s no longer something we can sustainably carry on our own.”. According to Lee, the increase is largely caused by surging prices for key components like memory (DDR) and storage (eMMC), driven in part by the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure and a broader global shortage.. The good news: Nex isn’t touching its subscription. The Play Pass remains $89 per year, which still feels like a solid deal considering it unlocks access to 50+ games — with new ones added regularly. For context, a single game on platforms like Xbox or Nintendo Switch can easily run more than $40 each.. Nex Playground also targets a very different audience than traditional consoles. Instead of controllers and competitive gameplay, it focuses on younger kids and families, with simple motion-based, board game-style experiences with familiar characters like Bluey and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The result is something that gets kids moving just as much as it keeps them entertained.. If you’ve been on the fence, now’s the time to pull the trigger.

Tech

Today’s NYT Mini Crossword Answers for Sunday, March 29

Looking for the most recent Mini Crossword answer? Click here for today’s Mini Crossword hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Wordle, Strands, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.. Today’s Mini Crossword was a little tricky. The fishing clue, 6-Across, stumped me for a while, but it eventually made sense. Read on for all the answers. And if you could use some hints and guidance for daily solving, check out our Mini Crossword tips.. If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.. Read more: Tips and Tricks for Solving The New York Times Mini Crossword. Let’s get to those Mini Crossword clues and answers.. The completed NYT Mini Crossword puzzle for March 29, 2026. NYT/Screenshot by CNET. Mini across clues and answers. 1A clue: Prepare for a weekend getaway. Answer: PACK. 5A clue: So-called “king of summer fabrics”. Answer: LINEN. 6A clue: Go fishing. Answer: ANGLE. 7A clue: “Cut” command, on a keyboard. Answer: CTRLX. 8A clue: ___ Ma, 3-Down player who has performed for nine U.S. presidents. Answer: YOYO. Mini down clues and answers. 1D clue: Kind of bean in a burrito. Answer: PINTO. 2D clue: More than a little irritated. Answer: ANGRY. 3D clue: See 8-Across. Answer: CELLO. 4D clue: Building toy brand. Answer: KNEX. 5D clue: Like many wedding veils. Answer: LACY