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Ininformation technology, anotification system is a combination ofsoftware andhardware that delivers amessage to a set of recipients.[1] It commonly displays activity related to anaccount.[2] These systems are an important aspect of modernweb applications.[3]
The widespread adoption of notification systems was a major technological development of the 20th century.[4] A notification is a combination ofsoftware, hardware, andpsychology that provides a means of delivering a message to a group of recipients. Notifications show activity that relates to an event, account, or person.
Apush notification is a message that appears on amobile device such as a text, sports score, limited-time deal, or ane-mail announcing when acomputer network will be down for scheduled maintenance. Notifications are sent from app publishers at any time in an effort to get users to open up their app orwebsite. Notifications appear on a user'slock screen and also at the top of their phone screen when the phone is unlocked and in use. In most newer devices, notifications appearing on the lock screen can be turned off, typically via an option in the device's settings.[5][6]
Push notifications can be valuable and convenient for both the app user and thedeveloper due to the immediacy and display location of notifications. Notifications also pair with sounds to reach multiple senses of a user and reach maximum attention.
For app publishers, push notifications are a way for them to speak directly to the user without being caught byspam filters or being pushed to the side by the flood of emails within an inbox. Because of this, these pushclick-through rates can be higher than email.[7] They invite users to open an app or spend time and money in a certain way by the app publisher, even when the app isn't open. This means that for developers,publishers, andbusinesses, notifications are the most effective way to take attention and ultimately make money.
Notifications use a concept known as variable rewards,[8] which is a technique thatslot machines use to engage gamblers. Similarly, variablereward systems keep users compulsively checking their phones due to the possibility ofsocial approval awaiting them.
SocialpsychologistJonathan Haidt atNYU Stern School of Business points to concerns ofmental health directly relating to social media and the notification system. He points to the increase indepression andsuicide rates among teens and young adults since the early 2000s, and Haidt states that this trend started the year social media was made available on cell phones.[9]
Tristan Harris, former design ethicist atGoogle and co-founder of theCenter for Humane Technology states that there is a "disinformation-for-profitbusiness model" and companies profit by allowing "unregulated messages to reach anyone for the best price."[10] This becomes problematic as companies have unlimited and often unwarranted access to you and your focus through the notification system. This is always used to drive larger profits, whether that means that companies use notifications to simply promote their newest product, or if they subtly try to get you back onto the app in order to take more of your time. There is overwhelming evidence that notifications are associated with decreasedproductivity, poorer concentration, and increaseddistraction at work, school, and home.[11][12]
The number of ways a person can interact with technology has steadily increased. Advanced notification systems support at least one and sometimes all of the following communications media: