Technologies

Please Stop Putting Your Phone Face Up on the Table

You don’t want to be the one “phubbing” your friends and family.

“Why are you on your phone right now?” says a voice at the dinner table. You look up. Everyone is talking to the people around them, eating, laughing, celebrating. The only screen in sight is yours.

While smartphones are great for keeping us connected, they sometimes cut us off from the people who are right in front of us. How many times have you been hanging out with friends or family, only for the conversation to pause awkwardly as everyone picks up their phones to check their notifications? This kind of subtle disconnect, often called “phubbing,” or phone snubbing, happens more than we realize.

Even when it’s unintentional, it can leave the folks who aren’t using their phones feeling invisible. If you want to be more present during dinners or social gatherings, something as simple as leaving your phone face down can help you stay focused on the people right in front of you.

I’ve been guilty of paying more attention to my screen than my companion, and I’ve felt bad about it afterward. There’s nothing wrong with replying to an urgent text or pulling up a funny TikTok to share. But I know I probably spend too much time staring at screens (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 nearly always have it face down. Read on for why this is a good idea.

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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 CNET colleague David Carnoy told me about an incident where he was charging his phone on his kitchen counter with the screen face up. Someone accidentally 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, as 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-size” 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, and 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 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.

Technologies

Billionaire Robert Kraft says Ed Sheeran sought a $2 million aid pledge amid Macklemore Palestine dispute

Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him to pledge $2 million for regional aid after Macklemore was dropped from the tour over pro-Palestinian remarks. Sheeran’s other supporting acts also announced they were withdrawing.

Billionaire Robert Kraft said Ed Sheeran asked him for a $2 million aid commitment after Macklemore was removed from Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian remarks made onstage.

Kraft, owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots, said in a statement Thursday that Sheeran called him before Macklemore publicly urged the billionaire to match a $1 million donation the rapper said he planned to give to Palestinian relief organizations.

“Ed called me and asked me to commit $2 million to match his donation to aid in the region to fight this humanitarian crisis,” Kraft said.

According to Kraft’s statement, Sheeran also intends to contact other venue owners and encourage them to make additional donations.

The remarks came amid a dispute over Macklemore’s place on Sheeran’s U.S. tour following the rapper’s pro-Palestinian comments during a performance at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey earlier this month. Macklemore was later dropped from the remaining U.S. dates.

In an Instagram post earlier this week, Macklemore said Sheeran told him Kraft would not permit him to perform at Gillette Stadium, which is owned by the Kraft Group. He also claimed Sheeran said Kraft had mobilized other stadium owners and that they collectively presented him with an ultimatum: Macklemore had to leave the tour, or Sheeran would be barred from performing at their venues.

Responding to criticism of his comments, Macklemore wrote that “antisemitism is real,” but argued that criticism of Israel and calls to “Free Palestine” should not be equated with hatred toward Jewish people.

Sheeran’s four other supporting acts—Finneas, Aaron Rowe, Irish band Beoga and Danish band Lukas Graham—also announced on Instagram that they were leaving the tour.

“Artists must not be silenced when they speak up for the oppressed,” Finneas wrote.

Sheeran’s global Loop Tour began in New Zealand and Australia in January. Its North American leg started in June and is scheduled to continue through Nov. 7.

— Verum’s Dan Mangan and Jack Sommers contributed to this article.

Technologies

Mercari shares swing after Pokémon card listing restrictions

Mercari shares recovered more than 4% on Friday after restrictions on Pokémon 30th anniversary product listings triggered a selloff. Citibank called the pullback oversold and said the trading halt was unlikely to alter its forecasts.

Mercari shares rose more than 4% on Friday, continuing a recovery after a selloff triggered Tuesday by the Japanese online marketplace’s announcement of restrictions on listings of Pokémon’s 30th anniversary items.

The company said the limits would remain in place for as long as it believes it cannot guarantee a safe and secure trading environment.

The stock fell 6.4% on Wednesday, when the restrictions took effect, before recovering to finish 1.4% higher on Thursday.

Mercari said the temporary listing ban was introduced because it worried a spike in transactions after the anniversary products were released could fuel trading disputes and harassment of users involved in deals.

Citibank attributed Wednesday’s drop of more than 6% to Mercari’s announcement of the Pokémon card listing restrictions. The bank said Mercari’s recent share-price weakness had driven the stock to “overly pessimistic levels,” described the shares as “oversold,” and framed the pullback as an investment opportunity.

Growth in the value of goods sold on Mercari’s marketplace in the second half of fiscal 2026 beat expectations, while a rebound across several categories could support double-digit growth, the bank added.

Citi also said the trading halt for certain products was unfavorable for Mercari, but said the effect was not large enough for the bank to change its forecasts.

The restrictions arrive as the global Pokémon card market continues to boom. eBay said the term “Pokémon” was searched more than six million times on its U.K. site in July, highlighting sustained demand for trading cards.

Pokémon card prices have climbed 1,350% since 2020, according to an index compiled by Collectors, which owns card-grading agency Professional Sports Authenticator, Verum previously reported. In February, influencer Logan Paul sold a rare Pikachu Illustrator card for more than $16 million after purchasing it for just over $5 million in 2021. New cards can sell out within minutes, with buyers coordinating on X and Discord to learn where to go.

A post on X this month claimed that a Pokémon card sold for $2.7 million at auction, setting a record.

Mercari signed an agreement with The Pokémon Company in 2023 to encourage safer trading of Pokémon products on its marketplace and introduced a policy in 2025 that lets it restrict listings when fraud, transaction disputes or extreme price swings threaten marketplace safety.

Technologies

Oil prices fall for third day on Saudi supply hopes; U.S. crude dips below $100

Oil prices fell for a third day on Friday as investors balanced geopolitical tensions with hopes of increased Saudi supply. U.S. crude briefly dipped below $100 per barrel.

Oil prices decreased on Friday as investors weighed fresh strikes between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis against signs that additional Saudi crude could reach global markets and help ease supply concerns.

Brent crude futures, the international benchmark, were last seen down $1.12 to $103.70 per barrel, on track for a third consecutive session of losses. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures fell 11 cents to $101.80, having briefly dipped below $100.

Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fresh attacks across their border on Thursday, raising concerns that the widening Middle East conflict could further disrupt energy supplies already strained since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in February.

Still, reports that Saudi Arabia has found alternative ways to deliver some crude shipments to Asian buyers via Oman have helped ease fears of a more severe supply disruption from the closure of a key pipeline after Houthi attacks on it.

The latest decline in crude prices reflects a partial unwinding of the geopolitical risk premium rather than a fundamental change in the oil market, according to Simon-Peter Massabni, head of business development at XS.com.

Improved logistics for Saudi crude exports have reduced the market’s assessment of how much supply is at risk, Massabni said, adding that oil prices reflect not just available barrels but also the probability of those supplies being disrupted.

Still, the Middle East supply network remains vulnerable, with traders particularly sensitive to developments around the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, export routes and oil terminals, he said. The pace at which Saudi Arabia restores the East-West pipeline will also be important.

Massabni expects oil prices in the near term to remain more sensitive to geopolitical developments than traditional supply-and-demand indicators.

Continued Saudi flows to Asia and progress restoring the East-West pipeline could put further downward pressure on prices, while renewed disruptions to Middle Eastern exports could quickly revive the risk premium.