Technology

"Hi, are you doomscrolling? Our bodies were not designed to be anxious and stressed for this long."

Back in the very anxious year of 2021, a friendly little bot on Twitter — the Doomscrolling Reminder Bot — came along to offer mindfulness reminders like this. Created just after doomscrolling became the 2020 word of the year, the Doomscrolling Reminder Bot soon became a kind of anxiety index. It gained its largest bump in followers during Elon Musk's chaotic takeover of Twitter.

The Bot quit posting new content in 2023, as a lot of the service's less chaotic creators were heading for the exits; even so, its follower count has never dipped below 100,000 Twitter users.

These days, however, you don't need a bot to tell you you're doomscrolling. If you're on social media at all, you're doomscrolling. With nightmare fuel coming thick and fast, with trolls in charge of the news cycle, even an aggregator like Google News or Apple News offers potential for doomscrolling. Heck, any feed featuring multiple photos of the world's richest man doing a, uh, "Roman salute" practically screams doomscroll!

And in 2025, even a cursory check in on Facebook — where Mark Zuckerberg has long been trying to lower the algorithmic importance of news stories — can turn into an hour of sad rubbernecking as your family appears to tear itself apart.

You might think you have more productive ways to spend your time — at least, if you have any hope of being part of the solution. You'd be right. The main reason we doomscroll, as psychotherapist Tess Brigham puts it, is that it's a "way of feeling in control in a world that feels out of control all the time."

SEE ALSO: You've been getting self-care all wrong. It's a political act and always has been.

But after a certain point, you're not informing yourself; you're filling your head with images and worries that may disturb your sleep and thus make you feel more ragged the next day. A world on fire needs you at your best; the world does not need you to obsess over bad things or their potential to get worse.

Deny the doomscroll

So if the mere nudges of a mindfulness bot can't prevent us from filling our tanks on nightmare fuel, how to stop?

Like trying to break any compulsive smartphone-based behavior that delivers dopamine to your brain — also known as a habit — ending the doomscroll is not as easy as it sounds. I quit Twitter on election night (and decided on a conscious effort to avoid as much news as possible through the end of 2024), but for days after that it was touch-and-go: I would often catch my finger hovering over that awful X icon in my iPhone's "Communication" folder, one I open all the time.

If I'd followed one popular thread of online advice, I would have used a service like Freedom, or Apple's Screen Time, to lock that X down. Freedom, which has recently started posting its own articles on the dangers of doomscrolling and news addiction, boasts more than 3 million customers who pay up to $8 a month to limit their access to certain apps or sites across multiple devices.

More power to you if you're one of those millions. For me, being told I can't have something — even by myself — can be a way to ensure I want it more. I've used Screen Time for years to limit my access to Threes, an iPhone game I often turn to in times of stress, to 15 minutes a day.

Roughly half the time I get that 15-minute warning, I accept it as a mindfulness reminder and get on with whatever task I was avoiding. Trouble is, the other half of the time, a surly teenager appears in my head.

"Screw you, me, you're not the boss of me," he says, and hits the snooze button that offers another 15 minutes of respite from the real world.

SEE ALSO: 5 practical ways to cut back on doomscrolling

There are other tips and tricks for reducing the attractiveness of your smartphone, such as turning your screen monochrome. But I didn't need to go that far. Nor did I need to delete Twitter from my phone altogether, a drastic step that felt like it would have induced a panicky, pendulum-swing-like re-download the following day.

Ultimately, the reason I didn't touch that X again was that I followed the first recommendation way back in our 2020 anti-doomscrolling article: reorganize your apps. Putting X and the equally addictive Threads at the back of my Communication folder, three pages in, was better than deleting them altogether. Over time I simply forgot they were there.

"Out of sight, out of mind" may be an underrated dictum in the digital age. Nutrition behavior experts recommend putting healthy snacks like nuts and fruit on the kitchen counter, while chips and cookies languish at the back of the cupboard — not denied, just forgotten. Why not do the smartphone equivalent with your home screen?

Better living with better apps

It wasn't enough to just hide the X app. As with every behavior change, it had to come with a significant vibe shift. And, as the science suggests, it was a lot easier with the creation of new habits to help disrupt the old.

First off, I had to stop telling myself that it was the job of a journalist like me — whose area of interest is pretty much anything that fits on a screen — to be on social media all the time. For this I was indebted to a November article by Laura Hazard Owen, the editor of Nieman Lab, that drew a critical line in the sand: Going forward, she wrote, "I'll read news, not other people's reactions to news."

However, I wanted to take the experiment a step further. Could I stay sufficiently informed without opening news apps or going to aggregators? Indeed I could, because email newsletters are still a thing. You should of course sign up for all of ours, but I also solicited newsletter recommendations from friends and have particularly enjoyed low-key, no-nonsense news recaps from The Conversation.

When I was mainlining news I used to find email newsletters irritating, almost akin to spam. Now I see they're a great way to put news in its proper productive context — important, but rarely more important than the most urgent things in your inbox.

As for habit disruption — well, you don't need me to tell you that there are some apps on your phone that are way more educational than others. For example, if I'd put all the hours I spent scrolling Twitter and Facebook in 2024 into Duolingo instead, I could have learned a new language.

Ultimately, I went in a simpler and more fulfilling direction. Since my doomscrolling habit was essentially a reading habit, every time I had the itch to read news, I just read books on my phone instead (in dark mode, naturally). Kindle, Books, the library apps Libby and Hoopla, and the book streaming service Everand (formerly known as Scribd): All took pride of place on my phone's home screen.

My brain felt a bit weird at first; it had become so used to reading e-books on an actual Kindle device or iPad. But once you give yourself permission to do so, the advantage of reading books on your phone become clear. You can knock out a chapter anywhere, whether waiting for a friend in a restaurant or waiting in line for the DMV.

The less reactive your reading, the more you can slip into what is known as Type 2 thinking: slower, more logical, leading to better decisions.

In a world off the rails that demands our best thinking, a Doomscrolling Bot won't save us. But taking the time for deep reading just might.

Almost anyone can get a good view of the night sky without specialist knowledge or equipment. However, some things will certainly go a long way to making your stargazing experience the best it can be if you're a newbie—tips that I wish I'd known before I started!

As of January 2025, Microsoft 365 Family or Personal customers will automatically get Copilot in their Microsoft productivity apps when they install the latest version. What's more, this automation comes with a $3 monthly price increase.

There's a new, quite common E-ZPass scam text making the rounds — don't fall for it.

In case you haven't heard of it, the scam text in question claims the receiver has unpaid tolls and that they need to pay their balance in order to avoid consequences such as fines or losing their license. It also leads out to a link, which you should not click. We've got the details on the scam and what to do if you get the text.

What is the scam and how to spot it?

The scam text shouldn't be hard to spot, should you receive it. It has the hallmarks of a classic scam. It typically features a link with a questionable URL, it insists on an urgent action (in order to make you not think it over), and it comes from a random number. In the case of this scam, the texts have usually come from a +63 country code, which is for the Philippines. The messages seem to threaten folks with consequences such as added fines or losing their license, which would be pretty extreme for unpaid tolls.

Folks online have posted examples of the scam.

Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted Tweet may have been deleted

Mashable's own Crystal Bell received a scam text, which, in her case, claimed she had unpaid Fast Trak tolls.

Credit: Mashable / Screenshot: Crystal Bell

The texts have had slight variation but, in general, they follow that similar pattern.

What to do if you get the scam E-ZPass text

First and foremost Do. Not. Click. Any. Links.

"Not only is the scammer trying to steal your money, but if you click the link, they could get your personal info (like your driver’s license number) — and even steal your identity," wrote the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in a blog about the scam.

The FTC recommended you not click the link, reach out to your local tolling agency to see if it's legit, and report and delete the scam messages. Most phones have a "report junk" option for instances just like this.

So, in short: Stay vigilant and keep the delete button handy.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is finally here. Everyone in the tech space has at least heard something about Nvidia's most powerful graphics card yet. The company stole the show earlier this year at CES, the biggest technology conference in the world, when it announced the GeForce RTX 5090 GPU.

Now, the reviews are coming out from outlets that have had a chance to give the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 a spin. While Mashable hasn't tested the GPU out ourselves, our sibling publication PC Mag did! And we poured through reviews from multiple other outlets as well.

Mashable found that each outlet had plenty to say about the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090. To make things easier, here are some findings we've found constant in all the reviews.

RTX 5090 is a 'beast'

Gamers who are looking for the best of the best, look no further than the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090.

The most powerful of Nvidia's newest Blackwell graphics cards is a "beast." Review after review has brought up benchmarks showcasing that when it comes to gaming, the RTX 5090 blows its predecessors and other graphics cards away.

However, it appears that for many consumers, the RTX 5090 is overkill.

Most consumers will just not notice a difference unless they have a really high-end 4K gaming monitor with a 240Hz refresh rate. And even then, the current generation of AAA games on the market aren't utilizing the RTX 5090 to its full potential.

"The games just aren’t there yet," IGN said about users looking to upgrade their gaming PCs. 

If you're looking to future proof your gaming PC though, the slate of next generation games will likely take advantage of at least some of what the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 has to offer.

DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation makes a big difference

The RTX 5090's AI-generated multi-frame feature has all the reviewers talking about it.

Basically, Nvidia has a suite of tools called deep learning super sampling or DLSS which basically uses AI to improve image quality and boost frame rate. This isn't entirely new from Nvidia. However, the latest version in the RTX 5090, DLSS 4 with multi-frame generation, apparently takes it to a whole new level.

SEE ALSO: Everything Nvidia announced at CES 2025

Basically, Nvidia is now able to insert 3 AI-generated frames for every one "real" frame in order to increase the FPS on a game and in turn making it much smoother and more realistic looking.

According to the reviews, it works extremely well. The one drawback here is, again, a user would need a high-end 4K monitor to really see the difference.

Expect GeForce RTX 5090 to be hard to find

Of course, these are two relevant pieces of every Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 review.

The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is expensive at $1,999 for the Founders Edition. That's hundreds of dollars more than its predecessor. In fact, consumers can easily buy an entire gaming computer right now for around half the price of the graphics card alone. Plus, that also doesn't include any markups from third-party retailers and sellers. 

And that last bit is very relevant because regardless of that nearly $2,000 pricepoint, this thing is going to be hard to find. Between gamers and its AI processing use cases, the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 is going to be in high demand. So, if you really want one, get ready to shell out a premium for it.

Just got a new and shiny Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra? You ought to dress it up in a quality case, preferably one that will make the phone Qi2-compatible. There are many cases out there, so why spend hours searching for the best ones when you can check out our hand-picked favorites instead?

SpaceX is getting ready to start testing its new Direct-to-Cell (DTC) Starlink satellite service. The DTC service is supposed to provide cell phone connectivity to remote areas not covered by conventional cell networks.

The iPhone Wallet app has expanded its card support over the years, but not all loyalty and reward cards can be natively added to Apple Wallet. Here's how to add cards to your Apple Wallet, whether they're natively supported or not.

Ubisoft is set to release an Animus Hub on March 20, 2025 alongside Assassin's Creed Shadows. This Hub will serve as a central menu that lets players access several Assassin's Creed games without using Ubisoft Connect, the company’s usual game launcher.

The new Samsung Galaxy S25+ offers a more powerful processor and a bunch of software-based camera improvements, but are these enough to upgrade from the Galaxy S24+? Let's find out.

You might have heard of "nano" robots, which are still (mostly) science fiction, but what about micro-robots? These robots are built at the scale of insects, rather than cells or bacteria, and are likely to play an important role in our lives during the course of this century.

A recent survey by Informa and Omdia shows a notable increase in PC game development. This kind of increase will inadvertently help the Steam Deck.

Not everything has to be ChatGPT, or Gemini, or Copilot. There are actually tons of cool AI chatbots you can check out these days. Perplexity is generally regarded as one of the best ones, and it has now just launched an AI assistant for smartphones as well.

With Samsung's announcement of the Galaxy S25 Ultra, many people are wondering whether they should get the latest flagship or save some money and go with the S24 Ultra instead. If you're one of them, here's a detailed comparison to help you make an informed decision.

In January 2025, Microsoft introduced Copilot to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and OneNote as part of the Microsoft 365 subscription by default. However, maybe you would prefer to disable Copilot in one Microsoft 365 app without affecting the others. Here's how to do this.

LinkedIn is facing a class-action lawsuit over allegations of using private messages to train its AI model.

The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of California, has accused the Microsoft-owned professional networking site of "unlawfully disclosing its Premium customers’ private messages to third parties" and "concealing" its practices by "stealthily altering its privacy policies and statements." A key part of the lawsuit accused LinkedIn of disclosing private InMail messages to third parties to train its model.

A spokesperson for LinkedIn said, "we are not using member messages to train models as alleged in the complaint."

The issue of attaining training data for AI models is a contentious one, and LinkedIn is not the first company to be accused of misconduct. Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI have all faced lawsuits on behalf of users for using their personal data without prior knowledge or consent.

The lawsuit against LinkedIn is on behalf of paying LinkedIn Premium users who ostensibly pay for enhanced privacy features. The allegations center on a privacy setting introduced in August 2024 that enabled LinkedIn users to opt out of sharing their personal data to train its AI models, but the opt-in setting was toggled on by default.

A month later, LinkedIn updated its privacy policy to say the company can use user data to train its models and that data might be shared with third parties. The lawsuit accuses LinkedIn of violating data privacy laws and breach of contract by training on user data, including InMail messages without knowledge or consent and "cover[ing] its tracks" by retroactively changing its privacy policy.

On behalf of LinkedIn Premium users, the lawsuit is seeking damages of $1,000 per plaintiff.

Privacy is always an issue on the internet, and we all have to be mindful of what we post, but AI technologies are beginning to challenge what's possible when it comes to uncovering details that are not explicitly shared, using seemingly innocent data. Which is why GeoSpy is definitely worth taking notice of.

SAVE $34: As of Jan. 24, new and returning subscribers can get a year of Starz for just $3 per month. That adds up to only $36 for the entire year (reg. $69.99) — about 49% in savings.

Opens in a new window Credit: Starz Starz annual subscription $36.00
$70.00 Save $34.00 $3 per month Get Deal

Sick of Netflix and Hulu? 2025 is the year you should diversify your streaming lineup. It doesn't need to cost a fortune, either. With the latest Starz streaming deal, you can add tons of movies and TV shows to your entertainment collection without breaking the bank.

As of Jan. 24, new and returning subscribers can sign up for an entire year of Starz for just $3 per month. That adds up to just $35.99 for 12 months instead of the usual $69.99, saving you 49%. Once the year is up, it'll revert back to full price unless you cancel.

Starz is home to plenty of great original content, like historical drama Outlander (new episodes every Friday), the TV adaptation of Lisa Taddeo's book Three Women, and the female serial killer-centric Sweetpea. Not to mention, the streamer has an immediate output deal with Lionsgate, so new theatrical releases from the studio will find their way to Starz. Some recent additions to the library include Borderlands, The Strangers: Chapter 1, Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and 1992.

The Starz streaming deal is only around for an unspecified limited time, so we suggest jumping on it sooner rather than later to secure the savings.

Check out the best Amazon deals of the day as of Jan. 24: OUR TOP PICK Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ $839.19 (save $280.80) Get Deal BEST TV DEAL Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV $359.99 (save $100) Get Deal BEST KITCHEN DEAL Instant Pot Duo Plus $69.99 (save $60) Get Deal BEST HOME DEAL Roborock Qrevo Plus $579.99 (save $320) Get Deal BEST PHONE DEAL Google Pixel 8 Pro (Unlocked, 128GB) $599 (save $400) Get Deal

It doesn't need to be a major shopping holiday like Prime Day or Black Friday for prices to drop to new record lows, as we've seen the past few weeks. Today is no different — we're seeing tech gadgets from top brands like Samsung and Google drop to their best prices ever at Amazon on this random Friday. And we're definitely not mad about it.

Here are our top picks for the best Amazon deals of the day on Jan. 24. If none of these catch your eye, be sure to check out our picks from yesterday, Jan. 23. Many of those are still live, including the lowest price ever on the Sonos Arc soundbar.

Our top pick: Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ Opens in a new window Credit: Samsung Samsung Galaxy Tab S10+ (512GB, WiFi) $839.19 at Amazon
$1,119.99 Save $280.80 Get Deal

Just announced in September, Samsung's Galaxy Tab S10+ (512GB, WiFi) is down to its best price ever of $839.19 — a savings of 25%. New features include an improved speaker setup with enhanced AI-powered "Dialogue Boost," heavy Galaxy AI, a lighter build, and a change in processor from Qualcomm Snapdragon to MediaTek Dimensity 9300+. Oddly, MediaTek is known for being packed inside budget devices. Thankfully, though, our friends at PCMag (also owned by Ziff Davis) tested it and found the processor to handle everything from video calls and drawing to gaming and productivity seamlessly. It even earned a spot on their Best of the Year list for 2024.

Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Amazon 55-inch 4-Series Fire TV $359.99 at Amazon
$459.99 Save $100.00 Get Deal

One of the newest TVs in the Fire lineup, the 2024 4-Series features an ultra-slim bezel that fades into the background, making whatever you're watching more immersive. Otherwise, it's pretty much just a newer rendition of Amazon's most popular smart TV. It supports vivid 4K Ultra HD, HDR10, HLG, and Dolby Digital Plus, includes the Alexa voice Remote Enhanced, and boasts four HDMI inputs so you can connect all your peripherals. We featured it earlier this month when it dropped to $359.99 for Prime members, but as of Jan. 24, everyone can enjoy that low price. Prime member or not, you can save 22% on this 55-inch model ahead of the Big Game.

Instant Pot Duo Plus Multi-cooker Opens in a new window Credit: Instant Pot Instant Pot Duo Plus Multi-cooker $69.99 at Amazon
$129.99 Save $60.00 Get Deal

If you have limited space in your kitchen, we suggest snagging a multi-functional appliance like the Instant Pot. The six-quart Instant Pot Duo Plus is one of our favorites and it is on sale for just $69.99 — that's 46% off its usual cost. It features nine different cooking modes, essentially subbing for nine different appliances, including a pressure cooker, slow cooker, and sous vide. It also packs 15 unique smart programs to help you get cooking quickly and easily and a redesigned control panel that keeps you in the know about your cooking status.

Roborock Qrevo Plus Opens in a new window Credit: Roborock Roborock Qrevo Plus robot vacuum and mop $579.99 at Amazon
$899.99 Save $320.00 Get Deal

Spring cleaning will be here before you know it. If you need a hand, the Roborock Qrevo Plus (a lite version of our favorite hybrid robot vacuum) can make a pretty solid companion. It can tackle your vacuuming and mopping in one go, thanks to its impressive 7000Pa suction, dual spinning mops, reactive tech obstacle avoidance, smart suggestions and no-go zones, self-washing, drying, emptying, and refilling features, and flexible side arm that mops in corners and walll edges. Its 6-in-1 docking station also packs a 2.7L dustbin for up to seven weeks of hands-free cleaning. It's usually $899.99, but as of Jan. 24, you can save 36% and snag it on sale at Amazon for just $579.99.

Google Pixel 8 Pro Opens in a new window Credit: Google Google Pixel 8 Pro (Unlocked, 128GB) $599.00 at Amazon
$999.00 Save $400.00 Get Deal

While this deal has been lingering for about a week or so, we still think it's worth mentioning — and grabbing — on Jan. 24. The unlocked Google Pixel 8 Pro with 128GB is only $599 at Amazon instead of $999 — that's 40% in savings. For comparison purposes, the Pixel 9 Pro is about $250 more on sale. If you're not pressed on having the latest and greatest phone on the market, the Pixel 8 Pro still offers an excellent camera, all-day battery life, a 120Hz refresh rate, a swanky chipset, and advanced AI features. For Android fans on a budget, it won't disappoint.

Check out our full review of the Google Pixel 8 Pro.

None of these deals catching your eye? Check out Amazon's daily deals for even more savings.

SAVE $280.80: As of Jan. 24, get the Samsung Galaxy S10+ for $839.19, down from its usual price of $1,119.99 at Amazon. That's a discount of 25% and the lowest price we've seen.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Samsung Galaxy S10+ $839.19 at Amazon
$1,119.99 Save $280.80 Get Deal

If you're thinking about buying a tablet, you're going to want to head out into retail territory and think about dropping some cash now. There are plenty of great deals on offer that you won't want to miss, including savings on a powerful Android tablet that can fit perfectly into any tech stack. And you can get it for the lowest price we've seen so far.

As of Jan. 24, get the Samsung Galaxy S10+ tablet for just $839.19, which is 25% off its normal price of $1,199.99 at Amazon. That's $280.90 off and the lowest price we've seen.

This tablet boasts 512GB of storage with a 12.4-inch display and a MediaTek Dimensity 9300+ processor. In short, it's a fantastic pick with a bright, crisp screen that can handle just about anything you need it to. We called it one of our favorite picks for AI performance as well, praising it for the way it handles AI features like Google's image editing, "circle to search" function, and much more.

What does that mean? You can do just about anything you need, from watching your favorite shows and movies to getting work done on the go, all without having to wonder what the tablet can handle all at once. It's a multitasking machine.

This deal won't last for long, so if you're looking to save some serious cash on a tablet right now, you'll want to get one before this deal ends. It looks like it's only going to be around for a limited time, so you'll want to jump on this lowest-priced tablet now before it's no longer up for grabs.