By Melinda Kern
Elm Staff Writer
Cell phones present a unique struggle with their ever-constant demand for our attention. However, technology can also be used to our benefit. The new app Focus Friend was launched by Hank Green in collaboration with Honey B Games last month. Focus Friend provides an ad-free study aid that does not collect user data.
Hank Green is a figure many may remember teaching students via YouTube videos through his work on “Crash Course” or as the creator of VidCon. He is also well known for his work as an author and entrepreneur focusing primarily on science communication and education more broadly. Green has worked on many community education projects that help people of all ages learn about new things, such as SciHub and Crash Course, and provided access to college credits through his program Study Hall. It was not too much of a surprise that he developed a study app.
Upon launching the app, a bean falls into the user’s phone. The bean cannot focus on the knitting projects it has when other apps are in use. After setting a timer, the bean can focus on knitting socks and scarves while the user can focus on anything from studying to being present in a conversation. The socks and scarves made by the bean can then be used as currency to decorate the bean’s room and appearance. If disrupted, the bean becomes sad that it cannot finish its knitting project.
Like other study apps such as Focus Plant: Forest Phone Lock and Study Bunny: Focus Timer, Focus Friend motivates people to focus and stay off distracting apps by blocking usage of those apps while the timer is running. The incentive to not leave the app is to collect decorations for the bean’s room and keep the bean happy.
The response to the app has been incredibly positive. According to a YouTube video posted on Hank Green’s channel titled We Made the #1 App in America, Green highlights his excitement that Focus Friend had reached the top of the leaderboard in the American App Store for IOS. This, Green emphasized, meant that Focus Friend has been more popular than leading social media and generative AI apps. The video was posted on Aug 20, only one month after the release of the app.
Various users share their own experiences in the comment section of this video. Many users appreciate the lack of ads on the app and the ability to name the knitting bean. On other platforms, such as TikTok, people have been posting reviews and sharing experiences on how they use the app. “I just found the cure to my reading slump,” said TikTok user Hannah Rae.
Other resources that may benefit people from the internet are pomodoro timers, study with me videos, and various organization tools. Focus Friend is an addition to the pool of resources that students and others can use to better organize their time.
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
Photo Caption: Hank Green rolls out helpful new resource for college students