DuckDuckGo reaches a milestone of 100 million daily search queries, Snapchat is giving out big bucks, and experts predict that kids will face a tech withdrawal once life returns to “normal.”
It’s all the tech news that’s popular right now. Welcome to Hashtag Trending! It’s Tuesday, January 19, and I’m your host Baneet Braich.
DuckDuckGo reaches a major milestone in its fight to topple Google from technology
DuckDuckGo is getting its ducks in a row by reaching a milestone of 100 million daily search queries. The achievement is thanks to steady growth over the last two years as the privacy-focused search engine now offers mobile apps for Android and iOS, as well as a Chrome extension. Since August 2020 DuckDuckGo has seen 2 billion search queries per month. Google still leads with nearly 5 billion a month, but it’s a clear sign that people are looking for alternatives.
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Ever thought of making a bit of money on the side through social media? Snapchat is distributing over $1 million every day to users who upload short-form videos that go viral through its spotlight feature. This move comes on the heels of its latest attempts to compete with TikTok and Instagram Reels. The New York Times spoke with several millennials who are getting hefty 6 or 7 figure paydays, some of whom aren’t traditional social media influencers.
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And finally, experts are sounding the alarm about how kids will face an epic tech withdrawal from once life returns to normal – whatever that ends up looking like. An addictions specialist told the New York Times that screen time for children ages 4-15 doubled by May and kept increasing. One pediatrician who initially told parents to not worry about screen time has done a 180 and now encourages parents to do the opposite. What do you think the return to normal life will mean for children currently confined to their screens? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter @ITWorldCa. [LinkedIn]
That’s all the tech news that’s trending right now. Hashtag Trending is a part of the ITWC Podcast network. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home daily briefing. I’m Alex Coop, thanks for listening!