Apps put a whole new world of information in your hands

Answers at your fingertips may give a sense of independence, report He Na and Zhang Yuchen.

Zhang Yu claims to have a lot of good friends, but they are not convinced. They joke that Zhang's "friends" are a number of thumbnail-sized applications installed on her smartphone.

The phone is never out of Zhang's hands, and she admits to spending more time with apps than with family and friends.