Put down that phone and talk to me: Understanding the roles of mobile phone norm adherence and similarity in relationships

Abstract

This study uses co-orientation theory to examine the impact of mobile phone use on relational quality across three copresent contexts. It investigates the relationship between perceived similarity, actual similarity, and understanding of mobile phone usage on relationship outcomes, and uses a new measure of mobile relational interference to assess how commitment, satisfaction, and liking are affected by perceptions of relational partners’ mobile phone use. Contrary to popular belief, the results from this study of 69 dyads reveals that, at least within a sample of young Americans, failing to adhere to injunctive (i.e., societal) norms regarding mobile phone usage does not impact relational quality. Rather, results indicate that perceived adherence to participants’ own internal standards—by both the participant, and the participant’s relational partner—and perceived similarity between partners were more influential.

Connection Cues: Activating the Norms and Habits of Social Connectedness

“…Our close ties are especially likely to alter connection expectations, as they might need our help or want to coordinate plans. More so than societal expectations, Hall et al () find that it is personal relationship expectations that influence relationship quality. Mobile interaction thus tightens the social links between our trusted others, giving them special influence in our overall social network expectations.…”

“…Thus, there is a need to reconcile general norms for accessibility with specific mechanisms that enact behavior. Following Hall, Baym, and Miltner (2014), we treat "societal," "injunctive," or "collective" norms as the psychological version of societal expectations described in the sociological perspectives above. Compared to the norms of specific contexts, expectations of connectedness are an example of a collective norm (Paluck & Shepherd, 2012).…”

Public Cellphone Use Does Not Activate Negative Responses in Others…Unless They Hate Cellphones

“…phone use in grocery stores, theaters, public transportation) have evolved in different cultural contexts (Baron & Segerstad, 2010; Campbell, ; Ito, 2005); and within those spaces, norms within small, personal networks play a key role ( Campbell & Russo, ). Especially within young adult networks, it is not unusual to be on the phone while engaged in face‐to‐face interaction (Cahir & Lloyd, ; Hall, Baym, & Miltner, ; Miller‐Ott & Kelly, ). Although users often delineate off‐limits moments (Hall et al, ), especially during periods of interpersonal intimacy (Miller‐Ott & Kelly, ), these findings reveal that overall young people are comfortable with and accustomed to ongoing cellphone use in contemporary face‐to‐face settings.…”

Psychological and physiological effects of applying self-control to the mobile phone

“…Waiting rooms are not particularly arousing and may encourage the adherence to social norms [58]. With mobile media, norms are often updated and revised since they are context-dependent [59]. Therefore, if participants treated the phone use condition as an everyday experience like a waiting period (e.g., students checking their phone before class), perhaps this failed to amplify their enjoyment because it was a normative activity.…”