Technologies

Your Phone Should Always Be Facedown When It’s on the Table: Here’s Why

You have three good reasons to keep your phone screen hidden if you’re not using it.

Picture this: You’re having lunch with a friend at the neighborhood cafe. They’re sitting in front of you, but it feels like they’re not even there. Why? Because they’re staring at their phone. Everyone has probably had a similar experience, whether they’re the one getting phone snubbed or doing the snubbing themselves.

I’ve been guilty of paying more attention to my screen than my companion, and I feel bad about it afterward. There’s nothing wrong with replying to an urgent Slack message or pulling up a funny TikTok to share. But I know I probably spend too much time staring at screens, and a lot of that time is unhealthy doomscrolling. These days, when I’m not using my phone, I try to be more deliberate about keeping it out of sight and out of mind. If I do need to keep my phone at hand, I always have it facedown.

It could help save your phone battery

I have a few reasons for making sure my phone screen is turned away. The first one is practical: Because my screen is facedown and won’t turn on for each notification, I can save a little bit of battery charge.

A single notification won’t mean the difference between my phone lasting the whole day or dying in the afternoon, but notifications can add up, especially if I’ve enabled them across all of my apps. If I’m in a lot of group chats, my screen might end up turning on dozens of times throughout the day (and that’s on the low side since many teenagers have hundreds of notifications a day).

It also shows that you pay attention

Keeping my phone facedown is also a good rule of social etiquette: If I’m hanging out with someone, I keep my screen hidden from view as a subtle way of showing that I won’t be distracted by it. I don’t want incoming notifications to light up my screen every few seconds, especially if I’m in a bar or other dimly lit setting. I want to keep my eyes on the person I’m talking to.

«Eye contact is one of the most powerful forms of human connection. Neuroscience research indicates that when two people make direct eye contact, their brain activity begins to synchronize, supporting more effective communication and increasing empathy. This synchrony can be disrupted when attention shifts to a phone, even briefly,» says Michelle Davis, clinical psychologist at Headspace.

When I’m with the people I’ve chosen to spend time with, I want to be fully present with them. A sudden notification will tempt me to glance at, or worse, pick up my phone in the middle of a conversation.

It minimizes your phone’s presence

I also have a more personal reason for keeping my phone facedown, and I suspect that other people have had this same thought: My phone takes up too much space in my life. I mean that quite literally. My phone is bigger than it needs to be. That’s been especially true since I upgraded from my iPhone Mini to a «normal-sized» iPhone. Yes, I got a much needed boost in battery life, but I also got a screen with more pixels to lure me into the next news headline or autoplaying Instagram reel.

A small smartphone isn’t something that really exists anymore. My phone is bigger and better at grabbing my attention. It competes against my friends and family, books and movies, the entire world outside of its 6-inch screen. It often wins. But there’s still one small thing I can do to minimize its presence: I can keep the screen turned away from me whenever possible.

It can sometimes feel like there’s no escaping from my phone. Whether that ever changes, or phones evolve into a new form factor, I can’t say. I can’t control everything about my phone, but I can control whether the screen stares at me when I’m not staring at it.

Technologies

RFK Jr. Announces All Americans Need Health Tracking Devices: Here Are the Pros and Cons

The US Health Secretary plans a huge campaign to encourage health wearables: CNET knows exactly the kind of devices he’s talking about, and why accuracy may be a problem.

Many Americans already track health statistics like heart rate and sleep cycles on app-connected accessories. Now the federal government wants to jump in. On June 24, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced «one of the largest HHS campaigns in history» to encourage the use of wearables to track health conditions, a trend CNET has recently covered.

Kennedy is referring to the many different bands, watches and even clothes that use technology to track human vital signs. CNET’s reviewers have spent years testing devices like these, seeing how rings monitor health signs, straps track your heart health and the right devices lead to better sleep.

The latest version of the Apple Watch, for example, has sensors designed to detect heart rate, heart rhythm issues, falls, sleep health, sleep apnea, temperature, breathing rate and more. The newest Oura Ring can track sleep patterns, menstrual cycles, temperature, heart rate and other health details.

«We think that wearables are a key to the MAHA agenda, Making America Healthy Again ,» Kennedy told the Subcommittee on Health during its budget meeting. «My vision is that every American is wearing a wearable within four years … they can see what food is doing to their glucose levels, their heart rates and a number of other metrics as they eat it.»

Kennedy also tweeted that «wearables put the power of health back in the hands of the American people.»

«Wearables,» however, is a broad term encompassing everything from fitness devices that count steps to sleep trackers you wear at night. And consumer devices can’t easily replace monitoring solutions offered by medical professionals.

For example, CNET has covered research indicating that even the best-in-class Apple Watch struggles with accuracy from metrics like steps to heart rate. Another study from California State Polytechnic University has shown that fitness-related Fitbit trackers show high inaccuracies as well. In fact, that research was used in a related Fitbit lawsuit.

Speaking of glucose monitors, Kennedy isn’t the only White House official with an interest in such health sensors. The administration’s nominee for surgeon general, Dr. Casey Means, co-founded glucose-monitoring company Levels and sells a monitoring app as well as other wellness products.

Finally, CNET wellness experts remind everyone that wearables aren’t always a good fit. Those suffering from eating disorders or body image issues should always talk to an expert before using wearables, as they can exacerbate certain issues or lead to a unhelpful outlook.

The US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Technologies

What’s Included in Xbox Game Pass? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

Check out the pros and cons of each Game Pass tier, and how much each costs.

Editors’ Note: Xbox Game Pass Ultimate offers a slew of benefits, including a massive game library, diverse device support and both PC and console games. Nifty features like the ability to play on smart TVs, phones, tablets and PCs — not just consoles — make this a convenient gaming subscription service for a wide range of people. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate costs less than the price of a new game each month, yet gives access to hundreds of titles, which is why it earned a CNET Editors’ Choice Award. The original article follows.

New AAA video games used to cost $50 apiece, but it’s not unusual to see a similar game cost $70 now. That price might make you pause before you buy the game, but with an Xbox Game Pass subscription, you could play a brand-new game, and others, for a fraction of the price.

Microsoft launched Game Pass in 2017, and since then, the gaming service has grown to be one of the best values for gamers. All Game Pass plans offer member discounts for non-Game Pass titles and other perks, but figuring out which plan is right for you can be difficult.

That choice can be especially tough after Microsoft removed its Game Pass Console plan and replaced it with Game Pass Standard. The company also increased the price of Game Pass Ultimate from $17 to $20 a month.

I’ve covered the service in the past, including future releases and whether Game Pass Ultimate will save you money compared with buying single games. And with all the new titles Microsoft announced would be joining the service as Day 1 releases, like the upcoming Doom: The Dark Ages, you might be wondering what the difference is between different Game Pass plans.

Here’s what you need to know about the Game Pass plans so you can decide which one is right for your needs.

Xbox Game Pass tiers

	Game Pass Core	Game Pass PC	Game Pass Standard	Game Pass Ultimate
Day 1 releases	No	Yes	No	Yes
PC games	No	Yes	No	Yes
Online multiplayer	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
EA Play	No	Yes	No	Yes
Cloud Gaming	No	Yes (select games via GeForce Now Ultimate)	No	Yes (via Xbox Cloud Gaming and select games via GeForce Now Ultimate)
Monthly price	$10	$12	$15	$20