You hear it said "there's an app for everything." That's no small exaggeration.

According to industry reports, there are currently close to nine million apps available worldwide, with most residing on Google Play Store (3.5 million) and the Apple App Store (1.6 million).

In 2023, users downloaded almost 150 billion apps and games, a 3.9% increase over the previous year. Google Play had "113.2 billion downloads in 2023, iOS had 34.9 billion downloads." Worldwide, China recorded the most downloads, followed by India and the United States.

Individually, the average American has 80 apps on their smartphone and "uses 9-10 apps per day and 30 per month." In fact, almost 85 percent of time we spend on smartphones is spent using apps.

Need proof? My iPhone is happy to provide it. All I need to do is go to my Settings and choose "Screen Time." It will show me total time spent using my phone, including time spent on individual apps by day or week. It literally tracks and records every interaction I do on my device.

My question is, "Do I really need to know?"

Is it to shame me for spending more time on games than reading the news? Or just remind me of the hours I spend on a phone that I could have put to better use? I can't help but feel my phone is judging me.

Of course, the biggest "self-help" use of apps has to be health and fitness. It's a trend that's been building for years. Check out this CNET report from several years back:

​Now, all of the above is well and good, but are you ready  for a life expectancy app? Enter "Final Countdown," the app  that predicts how long you may have to live.

It provides "an estimate of your life expectancy based on official WHO data, scientific researches, your unique habits and lifestyle. The purpose of the app is to raise awareness of the time everyone is running out of. The shocking information, which is represented by a countdown clock is a powerful tool, that is capable of making the users think about their lifestyle and motivate the individuals to change it for the better. Try changing your profile settings, and see how much time there is left with different lifestyles!"

Now I ask you: If something could really tell you, with accuracy, how long you have to live, would you want to know? Not me. I am very much a "carpe diem" kind of guy. Or as they say in the song,

                                                                  "The future's not our to see -- que sera, sera."

Speaking of songs, the one app I wouldn't want to do without is Shazam, which, when activated, can "listen" to a song and give you the title and artist.  It's amazing, and I'm sure Gomer Pyle would agree: