Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been showing friends a notification on my phone. It simply reads, “Don’t forget, you’re going to die.” Most of them immediately responded by looking at me with a mixture of confusion and concern. I like to let that look sit for a moment before explaining what’s going on.
Far from suggesting that I’m unraveling mentally, these notifications are from an app that wants me to cherish life. It’s called WeCroak, and it sends me five of these identical notifications each day at random times between 7 AM and 10 PM. When each arrives on my screen, I can tap it to open the app, where a new quote about death greets me. This could be from a philosopher, a poet, a movie star, or anyone. But that’s just a bonus feature for me — I’d be happy enough with the notifications.