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Tackling the torment of phone notifications
They interrupt conversations and overload our brains. But there is a way to tame the beast.
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Digital well-being tools should be built into every smartphone and app, giving users greater control over their screen time, says the writer.
ST PHOTO: KUA CHEE SIONG
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The lunch with my business contact had started out warm and cordial. Laughing at each other’s jokes, the conversation flowed briskly as we discovered a common vocabulary, mutual friends and shared experiences.
But there was a constant intruder in the form of our table trembling ever so slightly each time his phone vibrated with a notification. We could ignore it for the most part until the vibrations’ tempo picked up and I could sense his rising anxiety as he stole discreet glances at the screen.
