Some experiments are self-fulfilling prophecies. Morgan Spurlock put on weight by bingeing on Big Macs for his 2004 Super Size Me documentary. I became distracted and tetchy after switching on smartphone stock price alerts.
You can easily receive 10 or more notifications an hour if you follow enough assets closely. The effect is particularly galvanising if you choose a clanging stock exchange opening bell as your notification sound.
Price information has never been more available to private investors. But experts on behavioural finance say the data glut can make us poorer. It can override rational strategies by encouraging self-defeating activity.