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Turning off notifications 24/7 is no longer rude, it’s the new technological self-care

April 23, 2026 by usatoday24

In 2026, hyperconnectivity has reached unprecedented levels. However, in the midst of this constant noise, a paradoxical cure has emerged: ignoring those we know and love has become the new secret to a happy and peaceful life. As the magazine details Wiredwe are witnessing the rise of a digital tribe known as the “maximalists of the Do not disturb“. They are users who have decided to keep their phone notifications silenced 24 hours a day, seven days a week. What was once considered a serious breach of the social contract—the tacit obligation to always be available—is now a viral trend. On platforms like TikTok, videos celebrating “monk mode” or the non-stop use of “Do Not Disturb” mode rack up millions of views. In the comments, the debate rages: while some applaud it as the definitive act of self-care, others criticize it as a terrible lack of respect for others. What has happened to our availability? The norms of social etiquette have changed drastically over the last fifteen years. If at the beginning of the last decade the golden rule was “don’t call anyone after 10 pm”, the current rule seems to be “don’t call anyone, ever”, as I already warned The New York Times. Telephone calls without prior notice by message or email have come to be considered intrusive, uncomfortable and even alarming; Nowadays, if the phone rings suddenly, we instinctively assume that a misfortune has occurred. To stop this intrusion, users have taken the tools of their own operating systems to the extreme. The technical difference that has facilitated this radicalization is key: while the traditional silent mode turns off the tones but allows the screen to continue lighting and vibrating, settings such as “Do Not Disturb” mode or “Sleep Mode” act at a deeper level of the system. These tools block vibration, dim the screen light, and hide visual alerts, eliminating any physical interruptions. According to account Wiredfor many this habit began as a survival mechanism during the 2020 pandemic, when their entire lives were reduced to the screen. After discovering the peace it brought them, they decided to never turn on the notifications again. Personal limits versus social cost. Living in a silent digital limbo has profound psychological implications. Turning off notifications is a declaration of autonomy; Those who do so are not building a wall to isolate themselves from the world, but rather installing a “door” that they only open when their schedule and mental health allow it. But this position requires paying a social toll. Announcing that you live in “Do Not Disturb” mode is almost like declaring that you were vegan in the 90s: it is often perceived by those around you as a self-righteous or rude attitude. Friends, partners, and family members often get frustrated when they don’t receive immediate answers. For this reason, the maximalists of silence have learned that preventive communication is key to explaining that this is not a personal attack, but a necessary barrier. Paradoxically, this digital isolation improves relationships in the physical world. By not paying attention to a bright screen that demands their attention, these people demonstrate an absolute presence in face-to-face conversations, generating bonds of greater depth and trust. Expert support. Science supports this need for disconnection. The cost of always being available is very high and directly affects our mental and cognitive health. The studies warn of three major impacts: Symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity: An investigation, published in Proceedings of the 2016 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, has shown that constant interruptions caused by smartphones can cause symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity—associated with ADHD—even in the general population that does not suffer from this disorder. Simply having alerts on maximizes these interruptions and increases inattention levels. Stress due to job fragmentation: A study of University of California, Irvine revealed that when people are constantly interrupted in their tasks, they try to compensate by working faster. However, this accelerated pace comes at a severe price: one experiences increased workload, higher levels of stress, frustration, time pressure, and tremendous mental effort. Cognitive leaks: Adrian Ward, professor at the University of Texas, ensures that cognitive ability It is significantly reduced just by having the smartphone within reach, even if it is turned off. Added to this is that each notification causes “cognitive hiccups” of about seven seconds, splintering our attention. Once concentration is broken, it can take the brain more than 23 minutes to regain it. The digital paradox. Despite its benefits, silencing your cell phone is not a panacea for everyone. Previous research suggests that, for some people, turning off alerts can cause anxiety about missing something important (the well-known FOMO). This anxiety causes users to interrupt themselves more frequently to check the screen, resulting in a net increase in distractions. At the same time, the trend has been quickly absorbed by the market. An article from Guardian criticized how “productivity gurus” on TikTok they had commodified the #monkmode (monk mode), selling it as an isolated and somewhat melancholic self-optimization formula, forgetting that the human mind also fights against forced hyperconcentration. Finally, we come to a technological irony of our time. Recent clinical protocols, like the essay published in Frontiersevaluate the use of mobile applications mindfulness (like InMind) to combat work stress, burnout (burnout) and improve the engagement of office workers. In the middle of 2026 we depend on applications within our phones to cure the anxiety that that same device generates in us. The rebellion of silence. As we move into 2026, putting your phone on permanent silent has gone from being a simple setting in the settings menu to becoming a statement of intent. As they conclude in Earthis a reminder that human attention is a finite and extremely valuable resource, to be spent by conscious choice and not by the beep of an algorithm. In the end, as summarized by the testimony collected by Wiredgiving up immediate availability in the era of “always connected” is perhaps the most peaceful … Read more

The white lynx we found in October is no longer white and that’s not even the strangest thing

April 22, 2026 by usatoday24

“When that white figure appeared on the screen, I knew I was looking at something unique.” When on October 24, 2025, Ángel Hidalgo He posted this on his social media I couldn’t fathom what was about to happen. Hidalgo has been using cameras for years. phototrapping to document the fauna of the southern peninsula, but it was that photo (that of a supposed “albino lynx”) that became a boom. They have rivers of ink flowed about the ‘white ghost of the Mediterranean forest’, but now Hidalgo has discovered something new: Satureja, the lynx in question, is no longer white. What is happening here? Already in October of last year, Life Lynx-Connect explained that it was neither albinism, nor leucism, or anything like that. It was a reversible depigmentation of unknown (although probably environmental) origin. In this sense, the fact that Satureja recovered pigmentation was something explainable (and, in fact, it is something that had already happened with another similar case). The really interesting thing is that, months later, we still don’t know why he had lost his color, nor why he has recovered it. And we are not talking about just any animal, we are talking about a specimen of the crown jewel of world conservation. And not because we don’t have clues… After all, we know how the lynx’s fur works: on the one hand, pheomelanin It is responsible for the brown, reddish and orange tones in the background; On the other hand, eumelamine is responsible for the dark spots on the ears, tail and other marked patterns. In the case of Satureja, what was failing was pheomelanin. Furthermore, the two cases detected are closely linked to the Andalusian olive grove. …but no one has managed to capture her. And, in that sense, the studies have only been based on photos and some ecosystem analysis. Nothing conclusive and certainly nothing that is sufficient to explain what is happening to Satureja. The great paradox of the Iberian lynx. Underneath the dazzling success of the lynx’s recovery lies something that we do not always understand: yes, the lynx is returning, but it is returning to a deeply transformed territory. It is enough to understand that only 1.5% of the 570,000 hectares of the Andalusian olive grove They are grown organically, to understand that the world has changed a lot (and continues to change). For this reason, many are beginning to talk about the lynx as the environmental sentinel of southern Spain. That is, as a species whose physiological changes tell us about changes in the environment. It is curious that we have been trying to save the Lynx for decades and right now, he is going to help us save ourselves from the main threats to the ecosystem. Image | Alex Hidalgo In Xataka | The most fearsome animals in the world: when nature is much more dangerous than humans

the largest battery company in the world is no longer just about batteries

April 17, 2026 by usatoday24

The Chinese company specialized in the development of batteries has published results for the first quarter of 2026 that have left analysts speechless. Not because they are good, but because no one saw them coming. And the income has exceeded the forecasts of several analysis firms by 40%. The margin of error is so large that it only shows the obvious: that CATL It has long ceased to be just a battery company. What the numbers say. In the first quarter of 2026, CATL had a turnover of 129.1 billion yuan (about $18.9 billion), 52.5% more than in the same period of the previous year, according to they count from Reuters. Net profit grew 48.5% to 20.7 billion yuan. Analysts expected revenue growth of 35.7% and profit growth of 20.9%. The reality is that the numbers almost double the estimates. If the context of the successful year they had in 2025 is added, the image is just as groundbreaking, since according to the annual report The company’s own revenue that year reached 423.7 billion yuan, with a growth of 17%, and net profit rose 42%. Why analysts They have failed so much. Market consensus continued to treat CATL as a supplier of cells for electric cars. The problem is that this approach ignores two movements that are redefining the company. The first: energy storage, a business with higher margins than vehicle batteries, already represented around a quarter of the product the company shipped in the first quarter. According to data Production data collected by Hello China Tech, in April storage had climbed to 41.3% of total cell production, up from less than 20% a year earlier. The second movement: internationalization. Approximately a third of CATL’s revenue already comes from outside China. A Bet that explains everything. Energy storage is not a segment that CATL has joined by inertia. It is the logical consequence of a thesis: the world needs to store renewable energy on a massive scale. The war in Iran has skyrocketed global energy costs and accelerated demand for renewables, making storage systems critical infrastructure. CATL, which already led that market with a global share of 30.4% in 2025, according to SNE Research (for the fifth consecutive year), has arrived at the exact moment with the necessary capacity. And its shipments of batteries for storage have grown by 80% year-on-year in 2025. Europe as a lever for internationalization. The Debrecen plant, in Hungary, went into mass production during the first quarter of 2026. An investment of 7.3 billion euros to supply Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Stellantis and Volkswagen, with a planned capacity of 100 gigawatt-hours annually and a planned workforce of 9,000 people. This factory is proof that CATL is not content with being a supplier that exports cells, but rather a manufacturer with an industrial presence in the markets it serves. At home, dominating like never before. At the same time, CATL has reached a milestone in China that it had not achieved for five years. According to data from the Chinese Passenger Car Association collected According to CarNewsChina, its production share of electric vehicle batteries in the domestic market exceeded 50% in the first quarter of 2026. In the NMC (nickel-manganese-cobalt) type battery segment, that share reaches 81.6%. And in the LFP (lithium-iron-phosphate) segment, where there is more competition, it reaches 41%, the highest level in four years. The world’s second largest manufacturer, BYD, fell to 13.4% global share, from 16% a year earlier. What CATL is today, beyond batteries. The company itself has been trying to change the story for some time. In your 2025 annual reportstates its ambition to become “a leading global zero-carbon technology company.” It may sound like corporate rhetoric, but it is worth noting that CATL has storage systems deployed in nearly 2,300 projects around the world. Its batteries power artificial intelligence data centers, including SenseTime’s in Shanghai, which the company says reduces electricity consumption by more than 10 million kilowatt-hours annually. It also has subsidiaries in the electric aviation sector and solutions for maritime transport zero emissions. It operates more than 1,000 battery exchange stations for passenger cars and more than 300 for heavy trucks. And it is building what it describes as the world’s first zero-carbon off-grid industrial park, in Shandong. ANDThe market has not yet it has finished processing. It’s not all good news. Morningstar analyst Vincent Sun warns that the automakers’ strategy of diversifying suppliers and cutting costs could “dilute CATL’s pricing power and put pressure on its unit profit.” When you are the dominant supplier, customers have incentives to reduce their dependence. Here it would be necessary to see if CATL’s diversification towards storage, energy services and internationalization builds a sufficient barrier. Cover image | CATL In Xataka | China and the US are dancing the AI dance. And more and more they dance ‘agarraos’

The Seville Fair is growing so much that it is no longer just the great macro event in Andalusia: it is the ‘Coachella castiza’

April 15, 2026 by usatoday24

The Seville Fair wants to grow. And it is understandable. A year ago, when he announced his plans to tug to the fairgrounds, the mayor of Seville already warned that although right now the quote adds up to around a thousand booths There are many other applications waiting. Added to this enormous demand is the tourist success of the event, its ability to attract thousands and thousands of visitors and its economic potential, which translates into a trickle of million euros. There is, however, an even greater merit than Seville can boast: its fair is emerging as the largest macro event of Andalusia, a sort of traditional Coachella that grows while other fairs in the region stagnate or even decay. A ‘pure Coachella’? Yeah. The expression may seem shocking, but saving the obvious distances between the Californian event and the one in Seville, the truth is that both events share some parallels. The first and most obvious are the dates. The second. that both one and the other have become macro events referential, capable of attracting thousands of visitorsgenerate a millionaire business and above all overshadow other quotes of a similar nature. In a way, it also confirms a trend that has been taking shape in a more or less diffuse way in recent years: the festival calendar is polarizing between massive events, such as the April Fair in Seville, capable of attracting crowds and, above all, being promoted thanks to the tourismand others micro events with a much more modest, specialized and local approach. Between both categories there is an increasingly eclipsed dating ‘middle class’. Question of fairs and magnetism. Andalusia leaves a good example of the above. Although many more fairs are held in the region, such as Our Lady of Health in Córdoba (May), the Sherry horse (May), the Corpus Christi of Granada (June), the Malaga fair (August) or Saint Luke of Jaén (October), the one in Seville is probably the one that has achieved the greatest impact. And that is something that can be measured in two ways: through social networks, where it has become an viral phenomenonand in figures of both attendance and business generated. To confirm the first comes with taking a walk through Instagram or TikTok, where the fair has been gaining weight converted into a unifying and touristic event. Beyond the party, for Sevillians it is an opportunity to show their national pride. For those who live far from their cultural code, especially for visitors, it is an exotic event. Question of figures. Regarding the second, the figures are overwhelming. Last year the Seville City Council estimated in 2 billion of euros the economic impact of the fair, a figure largely justified by the high hotel occupancy (and the average price of accommodation) that Seville reaches on those days. Some sources slide This calculation also includes Holy Week, which is celebrated shortly before, but even so the figure is more than considerable. Regarding the volume of visitors, in the last few years The influx at Real de Los Remedios, the place where the fair is held, has been estimated at three million of people. As a reference, in Malaga they calculate that the shows at their fair attracted around 966,000 visitors. The event is in fact so attractive that in Madrid they have already promoted an initiative to organize its own April Fair, a macro event which aims to attract around 800,000 visitors. Fairs that grow… and fall. Aside from the visitor balances, hotel occupancy or business estimates, there is an interesting fact to understand the thrust of the Sevillian fair. Last year the City Council confirmed his plans to give it a ‘growth spurt’, providing the Real de la Feria with new streets and 220 extra booths. The reason? “Currently there are almost a thousand booths and there are another thousand applications from people waiting,” explained the first mayor, José Luis Sanz. The Seville City Council is so determined to undertake the expansion that the project has even caused a little crisis with the Government, owner of the land. The scenario contrasts with that experienced, for example, by the Córdoba Fair, which this year will feature 82 booths. This is relevant information because, as remember theDiaryare four less than in 2025 and mark a historical minimum for the event. New proof that the calendar is increasingly divided between celebrations supported by tourism and others with a more local focus. Images | Laura Liñán Jaén (Flickr) 1 and 2 In Xataka | Recording drunk people at the April Fair has become a tradition. The fines for doing so are not so fun.

It is so expensive that Spaniards can no longer spend the summer there.

April 12, 2026 by usatoday24

With summer almost (almost) around the corner, we Spaniards begin to think about where to spend our holidays. That has little new. What is curious is what the INE reveals about our behavior when planning these trips: we think less and less about national destinations, without leaving the country, and we look more abroad. The question is… Why? The low cost they make it easier for usTrue, just as true is that the tourism market is no stranger to generational change and changes in trends. There is however another key factor: the cost of spending the summer in Spain. It has risen so much and so fast that sometimes it makes more sense to travel to the Caribbean either Indonesia. Where do we Spaniards travel to? The question arises, but fortunately we have a valuable tool to answer it: the INE. Recently its technicians published a report on “resident tourism” that leaves a couple of curious conclusions. When we travel, we Spaniards do it above all through our own country. In fact, ‘domestic’ (national) trips meant in 2025 87% of the totalfar from the 13% destined abroad. That’s logical. The surprise comes when we go down to the detail, to the trend. What does the data say? The INE estimates that in 2025, residents in Spain will carry out 175.7 million trips4.7% less than in 2024. However, the ‘puncture’ did not affect all trips equally. The drop was concentrated in those that had a domestic destination, whose flow contracted by 6.1%. Those made abroad experienced the opposite trend, with a growth of 5.2%. The trend was even more pronounced during the last quarter of the year: between October and December the flow of trips to destinations within the country itself fell 7.1%. Those made abroad rose 7.2%. Year Spanish trips without leaving the country Spanish trips abroad 2020 96.45 million 5.07 million 2021 135.69 million 7.20 million 2022 155.25 million 16.13 million 2023 166.60 million 19.29 million 2024 162.81 million 21.62 million 2025 152.94 million (-6.1% year-on-year) 22.75 million (+5.2% year-on-year) Is it the only indicator? Perhaps Spanish tourists think less about Spain when planning trips, but in return foreigners do so much more. In 2025 they visited our country almost 97 million of international tourists, a historical figure that maintains the growing trend registered since the health crisis. They increased over all visitors from the United Kingdom (19.1%), France (12.8%) and Germany (12%). As for the most popular destinations, Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Andalusia and the Valencian Community stand out above all. This flow was in turn reflected in the money billed by the sector. Last year, direct spending exceeded 175 billion euros, 5.2% more than in 2024, although the trend is again very different depending on whether we are talking about national or foreign tourists. While spending associated with foreign tourism grew at a rate of 7% the national one stagnated, declining a slight 0.3%. Is it something new? Yes. And no. The data itself is new and updates the ‘general picture’, but the trend comes from behind. If the hotels in Spain have already managed to increase their flow of overnight stays about 5% In 2024 it was not due to the greater dynamism of domestic tourism, but rather due to the avalanche of foreign clients, whose demand skyrocketed by 7.5%. The same thing happened (although more cushioned) in 2025: the Spanish hired 0.2% less of hotel rooms while travelers from other countries demanded 1.6% more. They are not the only clues that tell us about a new reality: as tourist destinations in Spain become more expensive, driven in part by travelers from countries with greater purchasing power (in the case of the United Kingdom, France or Germany), more and more Spaniards choose to go abroad. It is not at all surprising if we take into account that sometimes spending a week in a country of the Southeast Asia or the Caribbean It costs them the same as doing it in the Balearic Islands or the Canary Islands. Are the prices that close? That’s how it is. At least if we go to the most extreme cases. In 2025 Mabrian made a study which demonstrates it with a specific case. After searching different options, their technicians concluded that the average price of the plane ticket to visit the Balearic Islands amounted to 142.77 euros. Added to this was an average price per accommodation of 285.72. In the case of Bali the ticket rose to 238.97 euros, but in exchange the cost of the hotel remained at 99.26. The agency made similar comparisons with Sicily, Algarve and Atalya. The conclusion was always the same: flights abroad were more expensive, but the difference with the Balearic Islands was compensated by including accommodation. Other similar analysis from Destinia, also published last year, showed that the 2,726 euros paid per couple in Menorca or 2,694 in Mojácar barely differed from the 2,883 in Punta Cana or 3,094 in the Riviera Maya. Is there price data? Yes. And from different sources. One is the INE, which calculates that in 2025 the hotel price index increased on average by 5.1%which raised the average daily billing of the accommodations per occupied room to 127.7 euros. The other indicator is offered by the firm Cushman & Wakefield. According to your calculationsin 2025 the average price per night in a hotel in Spain rose to 166.1, 4.8% more than in 2024 and (above all) “a new all-time high.” In the Balearic Islands, Marbella and Benidorm the increase was around 10%. It’s not just that hotels are becoming more expensive in Spain, it’s that they are doing so faster than those in the rest of Europe. “Spain’s 4.8% growth is well above that of Europe as a whole (1.2%) and is also higher than that of southern Europe (3.5%). In terms of revenue per available room, Spain continues to be one of the leading destinations, with an increase of 5.5%, surpassing European growth … Read more

They no longer have helium and they have liquefied natural gas left for 11 days

April 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Taiwan has run out of helium. And has a reserve of liquefied natural gas for 11 days at best. It is a very serious problem that is of great concern to Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturers. In fact, the Taiwan Semiconductor Industry Association (TSIA) has asked the Government of the island that set up a strategic reserve of these two resources capable of guaranteeing their availability for a long period of time. The origin of this problem is the war between the US, Israel and Iran. These countries have agreed to a two-week ceasefire agreement, but Taiwan remains on the ropes. The blocking of Strait of Hormuz has disrupted the supply of helium and liquefied natural gas on which many Asian countries depend, and the Taiwanese integrated circuit industry is deeply dependent on these two resources. Taiwan cannot afford to have such a fragile supply chain More than 40% of Taiwanese power plants use liquefied natural gas. And chip factories need a stable supply of electricity to sustain their activity. Additionally, these facilities require the use of helium in several critical stages of the IC production process, and Taiwan currently does not have a helium reserve. The US and Japan have already created a strategic inventory of liquefied natural gas and helium, and TSIA has requested the Taiwanese government to do the same. There is a lot at stake. The production of cutting-edge chips gives Taiwan enormous relevance from a geostrategic point of view And the semiconductor industry is strategic for Taiwan for three fundamental reasons: it represents among 13% and 15% of the gross domestic product of the country; is the engine of its exports with a value close to 40% of the total; and finally, the production of cutting-edge chips gives the country enormous relevance from a geostrategic point of view. For this reason, it is crucial for this Asian country that TSMC, UMC and its other companies involved in the integrated circuit industry have the resources they need. TSIA has noted that Taiwan must diversify its energy sources: “We propose to the Government the need to continue diversifying our energy sources and the supply of critical materials to prepare for the uncertainty of the current situation (…) Our Association also supports the Government’s decision to reopen nuclear power plants to have a more stable energy supply as long as the processes meet legal requirements and safety is guaranteed.” Be that as it may, the underlying problem that Taiwan faces is that its economy, as we have seen, is deeply dependent on the semiconductor industry. And their supply chain is fragile. Very fragile. The Administration closed the last nuclear power plant in May 2025, and since then more than 95% of the island’s electricity depends on imported resources. The temporary ceasefire agreement reached by the US, Israel and Iran is likely to alleviate some of the pressure on Taiwan, but its integrated circuit industry is too important to allow it to be so sensitive to the international situation. Image | Generated by Xataka with Gemini More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | We already know what the chips that will arrive until 2039 will be like. The machine that will allow them to be manufactured is close

The video game has realized that it is no longer culturally relevant. So he’s taking desperate measures

April 3, 2026 by usatoday24

If you have heard about the launch of new ‘Resident Evil’ and you go on TikTok looking to see something gameplay or how to defeat a specific zombie, be careful because you are more likely to end up watching videos dedicated to the back of its protagonist Leon Kennedy than to any weapons guide. You’re reading right: at his back, at his growls and the way he forces a closed closet, and not exactly at his return to Raccoon City. None of this is coincidental. Capcom, responsible for ‘Resident Evil’, has not only launched a tremendously anticipated title from a saga much loved by players, it has built a campaign to generate conversation, desire and, above all, a constant presence on networks. Thirst tweets (messages from fans expressing attraction or admiration for a character), clips designed to go viral and creative decisions aimed at provoking a specific reaction in the audience. fandom It is something that we usually see in marketing campaigns for cinema. A very obvious recent example may be that of the actor Jacob Elordi in the middle of promoting ‘Wuthering Heights‘ being a victim of countless fancams (those clips with images highlighting an actor or character). But no, this time we don’t have a Hollywood star but a fictional character; and the effect is the same. Capcom has joined the wave and in doing so has put many unknowns surrounding the video game industry on the table while beginning to clear up others. Because the question is not why this particular campaign has worked, but why the video game industry needs to do it now. Video games sell but they don’t create conversation The truth is that we cannot say that the video game industry is in the midst of a creative crisis, but rather in a crisis of cultural visibility and, therefore, it is beginning to react with strategies typical of other media. The list of video games that may interest us by theme, gameplay or aesthetics is infinite, but really that wealth remains largely for those who are already in the medium. For the general public, the video game is still something more opaque and specializedcompared to other cultural areas. The audience, even if they are not movie buffs or music fans, can be up to date with the big premiere of the week or a new album by Taylor Swiftbut it is difficult to know about the new game of Hidetaka Miyazaki. And the thing is, not only does it help that you like the product, but also the red carpets, the media interviews and the marathon weeks of promotion. Capcom would kill for this. Thus, we can stay up to date and find out about Zendaya’s new premiere thanks to a viral video talking about the theme of her looks for the red carpet or about Bad Bunny’s new album through a clip of her interview on ‘The Tonight Show’ with Jimmy Fallon. On the other hand, here the video game is at a clear disadvantage and does not generate that type of media attention and following outside of the endemic media. Cinema and music with trends, premieres and their stars constantly cross the public conversationa barrier that the video game cannot break. With few exceptions such as ‘Grand Theft Auto‘or a new generation of’Pokémon‘, few releases achieve a similar level of expectation. We are facing a striking paradox, we are talking about an industry that manages to generate more money globally, but at the same time has difficulties occupying that space in the collective imagination. This disconnection seems difficult to overcome, because although the ideas and quality of many titles are more than remarkable, there is an underlying problem that shakes the world of the industry. While income shows record numbers (the global video game market grew by 5.3% in 2025 to reach $195.6 billion), the truth is that the sector is going through a wave of continuous layoffs that hits both small studios and big companies that seemed untouchable like Epic Games with its totem Fortnite. These dynamics of layoffs, cancellations and restructuring show the structural tension that goes further of the games themselves and make it imperative to rethink, not so much what is done, but how it is presented. Video games have not known how to turn their icons into elements of constant cultural conversation. It is striking how some of its most emblematic characters such as Cloud Strife from ‘Final Fantasy VII’ or Ezio Auditore from ‘Assassin’s Creed’, despite their influence in the sector, barely permeate the broader collective imagination and only become icons recognizable mainly by those who already know the medium. And for this. Trailers or old classic events like the E3 or more recent quotes like Game Awards They are not enough to wake up the interest of the general public for new releases; recognizable “faces” and viral moments are needed. We already had a clue in 2023, if for the world of video games the title ‘The Last of Us’ is a reference, the king of the fancams Pedro Pascal and the HBO adaptation so that, through another format, this story would reach the global conversation, even increasing game sales. In this context, strategies like Capcom’s make complete sense: the aim is not to alter the product, nor the original idea, but to transform how it communicates, positions itself and, above all, how it becomes more visible beyond its own niche. Capcom and the twist “thirsty” New releases, such as in film or music, should also be an event with shared experiences and campaigns that transcend the news and Capcom has taken note. It even seems that the Japanese company has attended the “Margot Robbie school”: just as the actress throughout the promotion of “Wuthering Heights” commented and fangirled with all of Jacob Elordi’s romantic gestures during filming, making him the perfect Heathcliff; Capcom has moved that same logic to the world of video games. With a campaign that reaches not only hardcore … Read more

the mathematics of the crisis no longer add up

March 31, 2026 by usatoday24

We have been in the Third Gulf War for a month and what everyone feared has happened: the WTI barrel has broken the $100 barrier. It is normal for panic to spread. Experts get tired of repeating that, if we add inflation, in previous crises things looked worse. Okay, they’re right. But the drama right now isn’t what’s ticking on the quote screen. The problem is that there is no raw physicality. The ships do not arrive, the inventories are emptied and, no matter how much we stretch the numbers, the mathematics of oil has been blown up. A chasm of 8 million. The reality of the current oil market is summarized in a subtraction that continues to produce negative balances. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has led to the immediate loss of 20 million barrels per day (b/d) of crude oil and refined products. So far, the market has managed to absorb this blow, but the accounts are clear and terrifying: after exhausting the first defense shields, the world faces a net deficit of approximately 8 million barrels per day. To put it in perspective, that figure exceeds the combined consumption of Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy and Spain. The mirage of temporary patches. If the world has lost a fifth of its oil and gas supply, why haven’t we seen a total collapse from day one? The answer lies in a series of emergency “patches” that, although effective, have an expiration date. According to Bloombergthe market has been protected by several layers of cushioning. The first has been the diversion of routes: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have been quickly redirected part of its exports through pipelines that bypass Hormuz to exit through the Red Sea and the Gulf of Oman. The second has been the record release of 400 million of barrels of the strategic reserves of the member countries of the International Energy Agency. Furthermore, the United States temporarily lifted sanctions on Russian and Iranian oil that was stored in ships on the high seas, injecting more crude oil into the market. The efforts are finite. As energy analyst Javier Blas explainsthese joint measures have managed to absorb 60% of the loss of supply (about 12 million barrels per day). But the reserves are empty. As Paola Rodríguez-Masiu, chief analyst at Rystad Energy, warned: “The system has gone from being cushioned to being fragile.” The black hole is not going to stop, because the escalation does not let up. An Iranian drone recently attacked to the Kuwaiti supertanker Al-Salmi, fully loaded, in the same anchorage area of the port of Dubai, showing that no vessel is safe. Besides, as reported exclusively The Wall Street JournalPresident Donald Trump has told his advisers that he is willing to end the US military campaign without reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The administration assesses that forcing the sea lane to open would extend the military mission beyond its planned time frame of four to six weeks. We enter “demand destruction.” For Washington, the strait is a bigger problem for Europe and Asia than for the United States. With no new supplies in sight and reserves running out, the market has only one way out, and it is the most painful of all: demand destruction. If there is no oil for everyone, someone has to stop consuming it. The impact will be brutally uneven. How to analyze Financial Timesdeveloping economies are the first to fall. Unlike advanced economies, which rely more on the service sector, the developing world depends on manufacturing that is highly energy intensive. When prices rise, rich countries simply pay more and hoard available cargoes on the spot market, leaving poorer nations in the dark. Rationing has already begun. On the Asian continent, the lack of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East is forcing machinery to stop. In fact, the blockade has already exploded the myth of LNG as a “bridge fuel”, forcing Asia to burn coal in desperation and resurrect nuclear energy to avoid a large-scale blackout. Pakistan has closed schools to save energy, the Philippines has experimented with shorter work weeks, and across the region, fertilizer, steel and ceramics factories are shutting down their kilns. But the energy shock will not stay in that part of the world, but it is traveling towards the West. Europe faces an imminent shortage of diesel – the fuel that powers the global economy – in the coming weeks. If the Strait of Hormuz remains closed until the second quarter of the year, oil could skyrocket to $200 per barreltriggering a stagflation shock (high inflation with economic stagnation) not seen since the 1970s. The final verdict. A month into the crisis, the consensus in the energy industry is terrifying: the world has not yet understood the gravity of what is coming. Government tools to cushion the blow have been exhausted. As Mike Sommers confessedCEO of the American Petroleum Institute: “The playbook is pretty empty right now.” The crude oil does not flow and the mathematics is exact. There is a shortage of 8 million barrels a day in the world. As Jeff Currie crudely summarizedformer director of Goldman Sachs and current strategist of the Carlyle Group: “The main message is that the energy transition is going to be imposed on us in a very painful way and that it is going to happen very quickly.” That is to say, the leap towards a world without oil will not come in a planned and orderly manner, but rather through blackouts, inflation and the forced closure of industries. There are no longer valid patches; The global market is about to crash into a wall of physical scarcity. Image | Unsplash and Unsplash Xataka | That there are dozens of A-10s heading to Iran suggests something: the US has rescued its most “brute” plane for an impossible mission

thousands of soldiers converted into Tomahawks that the US no longer has

March 30, 2026 by usatoday24

In recent times, the United States has fought many of its wars without the need to deploy large contingents on the front lines, relying on weapons capable of traveling more than 1,500 kilometers with millimeter precision and being launched from thousands of kilometers away. But there is a detail which can be crucial: replenishing that type of weaponry can take years, not weeks. The Tomahawk countdown. The United States has based the start of the conflict on a key advantage: hit at distance without exposing itself, relying massively on cruise missiles Tomahawk. However, that advantage is evaporating at high speed, with more than 850 missiles launched in just one month, a figure that represents a significant part of the total available arsenal and that has led some commanders to openly speak of “alarmingly low” levels. The problem is not only how much has been spent, but how slowly can be replaced: They are manufactured in limited quantities, they take years to produce and their intensive use in multiple recent conflicts has left a stock much more fragile than the official discourse makes it seem. From remote war to direct risk. Because the Tomahawk is not just another weapon, it is the pillar that allows Washington attack without risk pilots or troops in highly defended environments. From that perspective, its wear and tear completely changes the nature of the conflict, because it forces remote attacks to be replaced. for closer operationswhere planes and soldiers are much more exposed. In fact, the very development of the campaign already points to this turn: after the first long-distance blows, the United States has had to resort to more conventional ammunition and to deeper incursions, accepting a level of risk that at the beginning of the war he had managed to avoid almost completely. The Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Bainbridge fires Tomahawk missiles from the deck while underway in the eastern Mediterranean, in support of Operation Epic Fury, March 3, 2026 A scarcity that conditions. It we have counted before. The accelerated consumption of these missiles not only affects the war in Iran, but also opens a much bigger problem: Leaves the Pentagon with less room for other critical scenarios, especially in the Indo-Pacific facing China. Let’s think that Tomahawks are a of the key pieces for any high-intensity conflict against a similar power, and its reduction poses a obvious strategic dilemma: continue spending them in the Middle East or save them for a possible much more demanding confrontation. In fact, the urgency has reached the point of proposing missile transfers from other regions and put pressure on the industry to multiply production, something that, in any case, it will take years to take effect. The arrival of troops. In parallel to this silent attrition, the United States is moving thousands of soldiers to the region, in a buildup that could exceed 17,000 troops ready to operate near Iran. Although officially it is presented as a measure of pressure or preparation for contingencies, the context reveals another reading– As the ability to hit from afar decreases, the need to have options on the ground. Marines, parachutistsspecial forces and logistical support units are being positioned for missions ranging from securing sea routes to capturing strategic objectives or nuclear facilities. Possible missions, real risks. Because the operations that are being considered are not minor or fast, but complex interventions in highly hostile environments: take key islandssecure points in the Strait of Hormuz or even penetrate Iranian territory to neutralize critical assets such as uranium. Each of these scenarios involves facing missiles, drones, naval mines and prepared local forces, with the added risk of operating in tight areas and under constant fire. Unlike missile attacks, there is no safety distance: once on the ground, troops become concentrated and vulnerable targetsrelying on aerial and defensive coverage that is also under pressure. The turn towards a more dangerous war. Inevitably, the result is a profound change in the logic of conflict: what began as a campaign dominated by technology and reach is transforming into a situation where the human factor returns to the center. If you will also, a key idea aims to clearly prevail, one where the war in Iran is approaching a unprecedented scenario for the United States, and where thousands of its soldiers may have to assume the role they previously Tomahawks played. Not by strategic choice, but by necessity, in a context where the shortage of high-precision ammunition coincides with an accumulation growing number of troops ready to intervene in one of the most dangerous environments in the world. Image | US Navy In Xataka | Iran has achieved something unprecedented in the Middle East: that the US has to abandon its military bases In Xataka | While the US bombs Iran, something unusual has happened: drones attacking the nuclear bases in North Dakota

When Sora was released many assumed it was “the death of Hollywood.” Only two years, then Sora no longer exists

March 25, 2026 by usatoday24

In February 2024, OpenAI published on X a string of AI-generated videos with his new model, Sora. Although today, after two years of progress, they even feel outdated, at the time the result was convincing enough for the media around the world to start headlines that Hollywood had a very serious problem. Two years later, Sora does not exist. Panic effect. The effect of this presentation with videos was immediate: MIT Technology Review, for example, described them as “impressive“, although warning that they had probably been chosen and were not representative of the output usual. That did not stop the narrative: for weeks, the dominant conversation in the specialized media was that film studios were facing an almost perfect replacement tool: synthetic actors, sets generated in seconds, automated post-production… The Hollywood unions, which they had signed agreements with the studios the previous year after a historic strike they put the issue back on the table. Two bombs. Sora’s story has two moments of media panic, separated by eighteen months. The first arrived in February 2024, with the presentation of the model described above. There was talk that Hollywood had a serious problem, that the almost perfect replacement tool already existed and that the studios were not prepared to face this threat. The second came with the launch of Sora 2 in September 2025with real faces inserted in videos generated by AI and with third-party intellectual property by default, unless the prompts expressly requested otherwise. All of this multiplied the volume and intensity of the alarm in Hollywood and the media. What was said In February 2024, coverage of Sora’s first model mixed amazement and alarm in similar proportions. Fortune commented that OpenAI had moved the generative AI battle directly to Hollywood. NBCNews asked filmmakers if this was the end of Hollywood, and some responded that it wasn’t yet. IndieWire He sensed that Sora could mean the apocalypse of cinema. The cycle of apocalyptic headlines with Sora 2 was much more intense. CNBC declared that the app was challenging Hollywood and causing panic in the film industry. deadline He said Hollywood was raw. LA Times He spoke of a battle that was worsening and a firestorm unleashed in the sector. slatewell, he talked about how AI was about to crush Hollywood as we had known it. What happened then. The panic increased in December 2025, when Disney, the most careful entertainment company in the world with its intellectual property, signed a three-year agreement with OpenAI: investment of 1 billion dollars and access to more than 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar and ‘Star Wars’ so that Sora users could generate them in their videos. Disney+ would broadcast a curated selection of that content. It was the definitive legitimation, which has only lasted 90 days. OpenAI has closed Sora before a single dollar has changed hands. Property problems. Sora’s problems have not only been financial. The app has accumulated a long list of controversies: deepfakes of deceased public figuresmassive use of copyrighted characters without permission prior, and the appearance of external tools to remove watermarks that identified AI-generated content. In November 2025, CODA (Japanese association representing, among others, Studio Ghibli and Square Enix) sent a formal letter to OpenAI demanding that it stop using its intellectual property to train the model. The families of Robin Williams and George Carlin They publicly asked for it to be blocked generating videos with your images. Moderating generative video content at scale turned out to be much more complex than moderating text or image. The consequences of hype. Analyst Ed Zitron criticized this attitude of the media, stating that they did not cover the launch of Sora but rather they amplified their marketing. Saying that Sora was a real threat to Hollywood was, from the beginning, an extrapolation built on selected demos and clips of a few seconds. Thousands of audiovisual professionals spent months convinced that their industry was about to be replaced by a tool that, according to OpenAI’s own numbers, never found enough users willing to pay $200 a month for it. The hype cycle has real consequences: it inflates expectations that are not met, generates costly defensive decisions, and when the product closes, no one takes critical stock. Sora’s coverage is a textbook case of how uncritical amplification of tech demos can be confused with industry analysis, and the damage that attitude can do. Hollywood is still alive. The closure of Sora does not erase the generative video sector in one fell swoop: runwaywhich rejected an acquisition offer from Meta, currently leads the sector with its Gen-4.5 model, along with I see 3.1 from Google and Chinese models Kling and Seedance. These tools are absorbing the space that OpenAI abandons. Who no one absorbs is Hollywood. The film industry, with all your problems (reorganizations, box office decline, threat of streaming), remains a profitable business built on decades of well-established creation, distribution chains and franchises that no generative model can replicate with a prompt. The question is not whether AI will transform audiovisual production (it is already doing so, in post-production, pre-visualization and marketing content creation) but in what real time frames and under what viable economic models. For now, the market responds that generating photorealistic video on a massive scale is computationally very expensive and that consumer users are not willing to pay what it costs. Disney signing Sora wasn’t evidence that Hollywood was in danger. It was, rather, evidence that big studios want to be in the AI conversation, not outside of it. In Xataka | Seedance’s strategy was to copy first, go viral later and back away later. Until Hollywood said “enough”

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