‘My smartphone is even smarter than I thought'

Did you know with an ad-lite subscription to SussexWorld, you get 70% fewer ads while viewing the news that matters to you. Like millions of others who immediately reach for their device, moments after waking up, I am presented with a selection of articles that have been plucked out of cyberspace, presumably by algorithm, for me to digest. Big Tech knows exactly what it's doing. As much as everyone gets annoyed when adverts for products and services pop on our social media feed just minutes after the very same thing has been discussed in the supposed sanctity of one's kitchen, I do appreciate it when I don't need to scroll too hard for news articles I am likely to enjoy reading. Long reads about family life, articles from various regions and nations I have a genuine interest in, not to mention a torrent of pieces about mid-life health, are always eagerly read, usually when I am supposed to be doing something else, but last week I was presented with one which distracted me from my overpriced coffee. I was immediately drawn in by a pithy paragraph that told the reader how unpacking your suitcase as soon as you return from a trip away is one of a number of ways you know you are a functioning adult. Given that I had done exactly that just a couple of days earlier, I was keen to read on because, as the kids of today say, I felt validated. Never mind the fact I'm as pretty much as close to my 70s as I am to my 20s, here in black and in white was solid proof that my nearest and dearest, who often refer to me as the third Tapp child, are actually wrong and I'm not a lost cause. Next on the list was knowing when bin day is and what bins to put out when, which is something I have become so adept at that I no longer rely on looking to see whether the elderly people in the street are recycling that week. Next was making the bed every day – tick. However, drinking at least two litres of water a day, knowing where the spare batteries are and not paying for subscriptions that you don't use are also key indicators of fully fledged adulthood, none of which I am capable of. It seems that my smartphone is even smarter than I thought as it seems to be trying to tell me something.