TikTok’s power

March 9, 2024

TikTok’s power: U.S. lawmakers voted unanimously to ban TikTok if it doesn’t part ways with parent company ByteDance. TikTok’s clapback? A push notification to 170 million Americans accusing Congress of infringing on their “Constitutional rights.” This is what I’ve been talking about forever — TikTok using its sway to have our citizens do its political dirty work.

Tags: company, TikTok

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Apple TV+ usually sticks with its roster of exclusive shows. But for the next month, subscribers can stream 50 limited-time studio films, including some not available on other subscription services, like “Captain Phillips,” “The Accountant” and “Argo.” (Tempted? New subs are $9.99 monthly after a free seven-day trial.)

What percentage of Americans use an electric toothbrush? Is it … A.) 24%, B.) 41%, C.) 58% or D.) 72%?

Find the answer here →

90% of online content will be AI-generated or manipulated

That’s by 2026. It’s just one reason internet activists are calling for explicit labeling of human-made versus AI-made content online. I’m sensing a lot more six-fingered hands in our future.

Give your willpower a hand

Social media apps are designed to keep you scrolling. Do yourself a solid and tell your phone to limit your time on TikTok, Instagram or your weakness of choice.

On iPhone:

Go to Settings > Screen Time.
Tap App Limits > Add Limit.
To set limits for individual apps, tap the category name to see everything there, then select the ones you want to limit.
Tap Next at the top right, then set the amount of time allowed.
When you finish setting limits, tap Add.

On Android:

Open Settings > Digital Wellbeing & parental controls, then tap the chart.
Select the app you want to limit or tap the hourglass icon.
Choose how much time you can spend on that app. Then, tap OK or Set.
The app will switch to black and white when you have one minute. After that, you’re locked out.

⏱️ For the record, you can override it once time runs out, but don’t! You set that limit for a reason. Speaking of time, the past, present and future walked into a bar. It was tense.

9,000 steps per day keeps heart disease at bay

Get in about 9,000 steps and you lower your risk of cardiovascular disease by 21% and risk of death by 39%. If a pill had these stats, it’d be a miracle drug!

46% more nearsightedness in the last three decades

That’s from a U.K. report that blames increased screen time and decreased outside time. Next time you see a Gen Zer, remind them to touch grass (if they remember what it looks like).

$49 for Target Circle 360

The annual fee goes up to $99 on May 18. A membership will get you same-day delivery in as little as an hour with no extra charge. Eh, I’ll stick with Amazon Prime.

90% less manual work At J.P. Morgan

That’s thanks to its Cash Flow Intelligence AI tool. The biggest uses? Analyzing and forecasting cash flows. The bank expects AI to produce $1.5 billion in business value this year. Those summer interns are gonna have a lot more time for coffee runs.

25% drop in searches by 2026 thanks to AI chatbots

A new study predicts using search engines like Google may soon be a thing of the past as more people turn to AI chatbots for answers. I totally called this one in November 2022.

60 seconds to make a website using Wix’s AI builder

Just answer a few questions from its AI chatbot, and it’ll generate a fully designed website in less than a minute. Before you think this is your chance at internet riches, look at the number below.