Research about smartphone usage
Here you can read a collection of the most important research into the effects of smartphones on our wellbeing, sleep quantity and quality and focus.
Smartphone Usage
Average daily smartphone usage
Average daily social media usage
Average daily screen unlocks
%
Wants to reduce their smartphone usage
Attention
The presence of a smartphone
“The presence of a smartphone, even when off, can reduce cognitive capacity by taxing the attentional resources that reside at the core of both working memory capacity and fluid intelligence”
Attention span from 12 to 8 seconds
“Researchers in Canada surveyed 2,000 participants and studied the brain activity of 112 others using electroencephalograms (EEGs). Microsoft found that since the year 2000 (or about when the mobile revolution began) the average attention span dropped from 12 seconds to eight seconds.”
%
Phantom vibrations
Almost 90% of 290 undergraduates reported feeling “phantom vibrations,” which were experienced an average of once every two weeks
Mental Health
Reduced Sleep quality
A systematic review and meta-analysis (of 20 studies) showed strong, consistent evidence of an association between bedtime access to or use of devices and reduced sleep quantity and quality, as well as increased daytime sleepiness
Teen depression
Electronic device use is weakly correlated with teen depression and suicide, and social media use is weakly correlated with depressive symptoms, especially for girls
Social Relationships
Conversation Quality
Even the mere presence of smartphone can disrupt the connection between two people, having negative effects on closeness, connection, and conversation quality
Digital communications
Digital communications miss out on advantages of in-person conversation, including body language, voice, tone, and silences
Children
Smartphone Addiction
78% of teens check their devices at least hourly, and 50% report feeling “addicted” to their phones; meanwhile, 69% of parents check their devices at least hourly, and 27% of parents feel “addicted”.
Distracted at school
“67% of surveyed teachers observed students being negatively distracted by mobile devices.”
