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Are You Phone-Snubbing Your Friends? There’s an Easy Way to Stop

Hide your screen when your phone is on the table — it’s better for you and your phone.

I’d have a hard time staying in touch with most of my friends if I didn’t have my smartphone. But when we actually do spend time together, I often wish we didn’t have phones at all — especially if my friend can’t stop looking at theirs.

At some point, we’ve all been phone-snubbed. That’s what happens when the person you’re spending time with seems more interested in their phone than you. You might be sitting right across from someone, but when they’re laughing at a video or meme only they can see, it feels like they’re a million miles away.

I’ve been guilty of paying more attention to my screen than my companion and felt 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 face down.

It can protect your phone screen

I have a few reasons for making sure my phone screen is turned away. The first one is practical: When my phone isn’t in my pocket, it’s probably sitting on a desk or table — which means it’s probably not far from a glass of water or mug of coffee. 

As a somewhat clumsy person, I’ve spilled beverages on my phone plenty of times. And even though most modern phones are water-resistant, why take chances? With my screen hidden, I can keep the most important part of my phone protected from splashes and other mishaps.

For extra protection, I have a phone case with raised edges. This helps prevent the screen from coming in direct contact with crumbs and debris that might be left on the table.

My colleague David Carnoy told me about an incident where he was charging his phone on his kitchen counter with the screen face up. Someone dropped a mug on top of it and cracked the screen. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a screen protector on this device (he knows better now).

It could help save your phone battery

Another good reason to keep my phone face down is that it won’t turn on each time I get a notification. That means 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 — many teenagers have hundreds of notifications a day).

It also shows that you pay attention

Keeping my phone face down 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 face down 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 some 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.

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Technologies

ChatGPT Ads Coming Soon for Free and New $8 Go Tier Users

OpenAI says that it won’t serve ads based on sensitive topics like mental health or politics.

OpenAI has announced that it’s testing ads for its free tier and new $8-per-month Go memberships, and the ads will be based on a user’s current conversation.

OpenAI says the ads will be clearly marked and appear at the bottom of ChatGPT answers «when there’s a relevant sponsored product or service based on your current conversation.»

Meanwhile, the company says the new Go tier enables 10 times as many messages, file uploads, and image creations as the free tier, and also remembers more details about you over time. The new $8 Go tier joins ChatGPT Plus at $ 20 per month and ChatGPT Pro at $ 200 per month.

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The company says it won’t show ads on «sensitive or regulated topics like health, mental health or politics.» It also said it won’t show ads to users who tell the chatbot they are under 18 or to users the system predicts are minors. Furthermore, the company says it will keep individual conversations private from advertisers and never sell user data to advertisers.

The company also says that users can turn off personalization and can clear the data used for ads at any time. 

Last week, OpenAI announced a new ChatGPT Health service, which enables users to upload their health data. However, privacy experts warned that the company wasn’t covered by a health provider’s privacy protections.

(Disclosure: Ziff Davis, CNET’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.)

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Technologies

How to Use Double XP Tokens in Black Ops 7 and Warzone

Double XP is a must, whether you’re grinding Black Ops 7 prestiges or leveling up your Warzone weapons. Here’s how to use your shiny new double XP tokens.

If you’re looking for your next hit of double experience in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, you’re not alone. While developer Treyarch frequently runs double XP weekends for the most recent Call of Duty game, not every player can take advantage of the full event.

When the weekend is over, players are often left looking for ways to keep the speedy XP gain they grew accustomed to. The solution is double XP tokens, which can help gamers level up their player level, weapon levels and battle pass tiers twice as fast.

Many players have an ample supply of Black Ops 7 double XP tokens, thanks to the carryover from previous Call of Duty games. But if you’re a new player, you might feel like you’re falling behind on leveling during Black Ops 7 Season 1 Reloaded. If you know where to look, there are giveaways and promotions that will help you get a head start in the latest Call of Duty game.

With more unlockable guns and melee weapons to catch up on than ever before, and the introduction of the new XP-based Warzone Armory, players will be benefiting from double weapon XP across their entire Call of Duty account.

If you don’t know how to get more double XP tokens to keep leveling up quickly after double XP weekends, we’re here to help. Here’s every way you can use double XP tokens in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 right now.

Can you use double XP tokens on Double XP Weekend?

Black Ops 7 and Warzone players aren’t able to activate double XP tokens during a double XP weekend. When attempting to open the double XP token menu to activate your tokens, they’ll be grayed out and unable to be interacted with for the duration of the event.

Any double XP time that players had activated before the double XP weekend will be frozen and will reactivate once the universal double XP boost comes to an end.

How to earn free XP tokens in Black Ops 7

Most of the ways to earn Black Ops 7’s double XP tokens involve microtransactions or external marketing campaigns, but there are still some ways to earn the boosts without spending a single cent.

Multiplayer prestige

While there are no double XP tokens available for reaching new prestiges in Black Ops 7, there’s still a roundabout way to earn double XP tokens by prestiging your Black Ops 6 account.

Reaching max rank and choosing to prestige your account is the most reliable way to earn double XP tokens in Black Ops 6. Each time you enter a new prestige level, you’ll be rewarded with a 1-hour token for double player XP. Since there are 10 player prestige levels, you can gain a maximum of 10 hours’ worth of double XP tokens through the prestige system — these tokens are automatically carried forward to Black Ops 7, where you can use them in the multiplayer, zombies and Endgame modes.

Seasonal battle pass

As Black Ops 7 enters Season 1 Reloaded, we know that the battle pass will offer double player XP and double weapon XP tokens on multiple unlockable tiers. The premium battle pass requires a Call of Duty point investment from players, but there are double XP tokens on free battle pass tiers that anyone can earn by just playing the game.

Giveaways through official channels

Occasionally, codes for double XP tokens are shared on official Call of Duty communication channels. The best social media account to watch is the Call of Duty X account, which usually runs giveaways before big Black Ops 7 update announcements. It’s worth keeping an eye on Call of Duty’s social media pages to spot future double XP token giveaways.

Paying for XP tokens in Black Ops 7

Opening your wallet and shelling out some cash is the quickest way to nab some double XP tokens to level up your Call of Duty gameplay. These are the most reliable ways to secure some tokens for your account.

Microtransactions

Double XP tokens are included in certain purchasable bundles in Black Ops 7. Bundles contain player and weapon skins, but also include a variety of double player XP and double weapon XP tokens that you can activate as you play Black Ops 7 game modes.

External promotions

Call of Duty is partnered with external brands, including Monster Energy and Little Caesars, which can bring special campaigns to Black Ops 7 players. Buying products from these brands and redeeming reward codes allows gamers to earn Call of Duty Points, exclusive operator skins, weapon skins, weapon blueprints, weapon vinyls, calling cards and emblems. Most importantly, you’ll have a chance to earn double XP tokens to use in the multiplayer and zombies modes in Black Ops 7. There’s currently a Monster Energy promotion running for Black Ops 7 — we’ve included the details below.

How to earn Black Ops 7 double XP tokens now

Monster Energy has partnered with Call of Duty to put together a promotion that will look very familiar to Black Ops 6 fans. Specially marked cans of Monster Energy include codes that unlock Black Ops 7 rewards, including operator skins, weapon blueprints, decals and sweet, sweet double XP tokens. Here’s the order in which you’ll earn Call of Duty Black Ops 7 rewards by redeeming Monster Energy codes.

  • Energy Flash decal and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the first code.

  • Peacekeeper MK1 Hyper Green weapon blueprint and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the second code.
  • Green Fury operator skin and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the third code.
  • VS Recon Green Thunder weapon blueprint and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the fourth code.
  • Daylight Ripper operator skin and 15-minute double XP token unlocked with the fifth code.

There are no unique cosmetic rewards to be gained after redeeming the first five codes, but that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck. Every subsequent code redemption unlocks an additional 15-minute double XP token to use on your Black Ops 7 account. These promotional codes must be used by March 31 in order to provide the rewards listed above.

When in doubt, use your Black Ops 6 double XP tokens

Black Ops 7 players are able to use any double XP tokens and GobbleGums they kept from Black Ops 6 — so take advantage of that carry forward and utilize these tokens now.

Double XP tokens don’t necessarily carry over forever — Modern Warfare 3 double XP tokens never properly carried over to Black Ops 6 and were only accessible through a Warzone activation loophole. No skins and cosmetics carried over from Black Ops 6 to Black Ops 7. It’s entirely up to Activision whether you’ll keep your double XP tokens for the next Call of Duty game that comes out.

It might be worth using your hoard of Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 double XP tokens early and often, just in case they don’t carry over to the next game in the series.

Black Ops 7 double XP token FAQs

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Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections: Sports Edition Hints and Answers for Jan. 17, #481

Here are hints and the answers for the NYT Connections: Sports Edition puzzle for Jan. 17, No. 481.

Looking for the most recent regular 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 and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Connections: Sports Edition is a tough one. The blue group is a bit funny, once you recognize the connection. If you’re struggling with today’s puzzle but still want to solve it, read on for hints and the answers.

Connections: Sports Edition is published by The Athletic, the subscription-based sports journalism site owned by The Times. It doesn’t appear in the NYT Games app, but it does in The Athletic’s own app. Or you can play it for free online.

Read more: NYT Connections: Sports Edition Puzzle Comes Out of Beta

Hints for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections: Sports Edition puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Leading the pack.

Green group hint: Football division.

Blue group hint: Like Bridges or Goldblum.

Purple group hint: Blast off.

Answers for today’s Connections: Sports Edition groups

Yellow group: In No. 1 position.

Green group: AFC East teams.

Blue group: Jeffs.

Purple group: Rockets.

Read more: Wordle Cheat Sheet: Here Are the Most Popular Letters Used in English Words

What are today’s Connections: Sports Edition answers?

The yellow words in today’s Connections

The theme is in No. 1 position. The four answers are first, front, lead and pole.

The green words in today’s Connections

The theme is AFC East teams. The four answers are Buffalo, Miami, New England and New York.

The blue words in today’s Connections

The theme is Jeffs. The four answers are Bagwell, Kent, Saturday and Van Gundy.

The purple words in today’s Connections

The theme is Rockets. The four answers are Clemens, Houston, Richard and Toledo.

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