Technologies

Your Phone Pinging Hijacks Your Brain for 7 Seconds, Study Finds

It’s tough to ignore the buzz of your phone when a new message arrives.

The soft ping or buzz on your phone that lets you know a new message has arrived is hard to ignore. But it can mean trouble when it’s time 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 automatically attract attention, far less is understood about the cognitive processes that drive this attentional capture and the reasons why some people may be more susceptible than others,» Fournier said. «Our objective was to gain a better understanding of both the underlying mechanisms and the individual differences that could account for this variability in sensitivity.»

Brain delay

In the US, 90% of all people own a smartphone, according to Pew Research, and a Harmony Healthcare IT study found that we spend over 5 hours a day using them. But how long we spend on our phones may not matter as much as how often we check our notifications.

«In a lab study designed to mimic real-life notification exposure, we found that the frequency of notifications and checking habits mattered more than total screen time,» Fabian Ringeval, another of the paper’s authors, wrote in a LinkedIn post. «The more often we interact with our phones, the more vulnerable our attention becomes to interruption.»

Anna Lembke, a psychiatry professor at Stanford, told CNET that the study mirrors what she sees clinically and in research literature, «namely that the level of engagement — for example how many notifications a person gets and how quickly they respond to notifications — is as big a predictor, or an even bigger predictor, of harmful, problematic use than time spent.»

Researchers found that study participants received about 100 notifications per day. So the notifications we get on our phones could be slowing down our cognitive abilities through near-constant distraction.

«In everyday situations that require continuous attention — like driving or learning — even short slowdowns can add up,» Ringeval wrote. «Our findings suggest that improving digital well-being may be less about ‘using our phones less’ and more about reducing unnecessary interruptions.»

Lembke said it’s fair to worry about how smartphone notifications impact our attention, «which is why platforms for minors should silence notifications by default and make it difficult to re-activate notifications without parental consent, and why adults should electively turn off notifications to improve concentration and well-being, with rare exceptions for safety reasons.»

Technologies

Verum Messenger Launches an AI Mini-Series

Verum Messenger has unveiled a new project — a mini-series created using Verum AI. The story consists of 7 episodes and will be released on the messenger’s social media channels.

The plot revolves around a global corporation seeking to take control of digital communications and a group of heroes who use Verum Messenger as a tool of resistance. Beyond the story itself, the series highlights the app’s key features, technologies, and advantages.

Combining entertainment with a showcase of the Verum ecosystem, the project presents a dynamic digital series designed for the modern era.

The first episode premieres today, with the remaining episodes to be released over time.

Stay tuned for more.

Watch on YouTube
Watch on Instagram

Technologies

Verum Finance: Earn While You Communicate — The Super App That Pays You

Verum has officially launched Verum Finance, an innovative financial application that transforms a private messenger into a true financial super app. News of the launch was also featured on the respected platform Dealroom.co.

Verum Finance can now be used both within Verum Messenger and as a standalone application for iPhone and iPad. When users sign in to Verum Finance with their Verum Messenger account, all balances, settings, and account data are automatically synchronized for maximum convenience.

Users can now do more than communicate securely and protect their data — they can also generate passive income directly within the ecosystem.

What Verum Finance Offers

• Top up your balance with a bank card, Apple Pay, or USDT
• Send money instantly anywhere in the world
• Issue and manage debit cards (virtual and physical)
• Full Apple Pay support
• Exchange assets and withdraw funds quickly

One of the most unique features is the built-in cryptocurrency mining system inside Verum Messenger.

The application utilizes your device’s resources and allows you to earn cryptocurrency in the background — passively, while chatting, traveling, or simply using the messenger.

Maximum Privacy + Real Freedom

• Registration without a phone number, email address, or passport
• End-to-end encryption and full control over your data
• Lifetime free VPN
• eSIM connectivity in more than 150 countries
• Reliable offline communication mode
• Support for 12+ languages for users worldwide

Everything is available in one place: secure communication, financial tools, earning opportunities, and privacy protection.

Users can access the full experience directly within Verum Messenger or switch to the dedicated Verum Finance app for iOS. All data is synchronized automatically between the two applications.

Why Download Verum Today

While many messaging platforms collect user data and expose users to restrictions, Verum offers greater independence and the opportunity to earn.

With a one-time purchase of the feature package, users receive lifetime access to privacy tools, VPN, eSIM services, cryptocurrency mining, and financial features.

This is more than just a messenger.

It is your personal tool for financial and digital freedom.

Download Verum Finance and Verum Messenger today — start communicating securely and begin earning tomorrow.

Download Links:

→ App Store (iPhone / iPad): Verum Finance
→ App Store (Verum Messenger): Verum Messenger

Technologies

Verum Finance: A Super App for Private Finance Integrated Into a Messenger

Verum Finance has announced the launch of a new financial application that allows users to manage their money directly within the secure Verum Messenger ecosystem.

The project has already attracted attention from major media outlets. A dedicated feature was published by Forbes Türkiye, while one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, MEXC, covered the launch. Yahoo Finance had previously reported on the evolution of Verum Messenger into a comprehensive financial ecosystem.

What Verum Finance Offers

Verum Finance transforms a messenger into a complete financial platform. Users can:

• Manage their balance and top up using bank cards or USDT
• Send money instantly to other Verum users
• Issue and use debit cards, including Apple Pay support
• Exchange assets and withdraw funds
• Access all these services without installing separate banking applications

A strong emphasis is placed on privacy. The platform offers registration without a phone number or email address, end-to-end encryption, and full user control over personal data.

Recognition from Forbes Türkiye

In a dedicated article, Forbes Türkiye highlighted Verum Finance as a notable example of modern privacy-driven fintech. The publication emphasized the growing trend of financial services moving from standalone banking applications into unified messaging ecosystems — a model that has proven successful in Asia through platforms such as WeChat and Alipay and is now expanding globally.

Support from the Crypto Community

Alongside the Forbes Türkiye coverage, news about the launch of Verum Finance was also featured by MEXC, one of the world’s leading cryptocurrency exchanges. This reflects growing interest in the project from both traditional business media and the cryptocurrency community.

A Strategic Vision

“We are building more than a payments application and more than a messenger. Verum is a unified secure ecosystem where communication, finance, and privacy tools work together,” the company stated.

Verum Finance is now available for iPhone and iPad users. The application complements Verum Messenger, which offers anonymous chats, voice and video calls, VPN services, eSIM connectivity, and other tools designed to enhance digital freedom.

Verum Finance: https://finance.verum.im

Verum Messenger: https://verum.im