Should it Stay or Should it Go? Smartphone Dependency

Abstract

As smartphones grow in use and popularity, it is important to understand the possible effects that varying levels of smartphone use may have on human cognition. Although smartphones provide many advantages for daily activities, one must also recognize the potential disadvantages. For example, smartphone use may lead to nomophobia, which is defined as the modern fear of not being able to access your smartphone or the internet (Yildirim & Correia, 2015). The present study used a pilot and main study to examine the effects smartphones have on human cognition. The pilot study was conducted to measure nomophobia, mobile phone involvement, smartphone attachment and dependency, and general smartphone use. This portion was also used to determine the paradigm for the main study. Participants in the main study completed the 12 Cambridge Brain Science tasks, which measured different aspects of cognition' while leaving their smartphones in one of two locations: on their desk, or outside of the testing room. Additionally, participants completed the same four questionnaires from the pilot study. Results from both studies reveal the majority of individuals show moderate levels of nomophobia, dependency and attachment, and involvement. Subsequent data analysis focused on the double-trouble task, which is an attention-based task. Results found that there was no significant difference in performance on the double-trouble task between the two locations. Contrary to common belief, it seems that the mere presence of one’s smartphone does not affect performance on a cognitively demanding task.

Technological innovations in the recreational fishing sector: implications for fisheries management and policy

“…It stands to reason that most recreational anglers (especially the next generation of anglers) have a smartphone with them while fishing. Smartphone ownership is approaching 50% globally and 80% in advanced economies ( www.pewresearch.org/global/2019/02/05/smartphone-ownership-is-growing-rapidly-around-the-world-but-not-always-equally/ ), and most users depend on the technology for daily life (e.g., Ward et al 2017 ; Foreman-Tran et al 2020 ). Smartphones are a net safety benefit (Yared et al 2015 ), allow anglers to take photos and monitor conditions, and can extend fishing opportunities by allowing anglers to remain available and productive while away from the home or office (Kalkbrenner and McCampbell 2011 ).…”

Predictors of the dependence on smartphones: the neglect of studies among Muslim students

“…Smartphone dependency is specified as the connection that reflects individuals' daily reliance on their smartphones (Foreman-Tran et al, 2019). Akbar and Picard (2020) believed in an intricate relationship between smartphone dependency, which is part of academic integrity and its impact on the neglect of studies among Muslim students.…”

Supplemental Material for The effect of mere presence of smartphone on cognitive functions: A four-level meta-analysis.

“…For instance, a replication study of Thornton et al (2014) by Lyngs (2017) did not find any evidence that the presence of smartphones reduces performance in additive cancelation tasks. Similarly, another conceptual replication by Foreman-Tran et al (2019) did not find a significant negative cognitive effect of smartphone presence when assessed by the 12 Cambridge Brain Science tasks, a battery of computerized tasks that measure planning, reasoning, attention, and working memory abilities (Hampshire et al, 2012). These mixed findings have thus raised questions about whether there truly exists an effect of mere presence of smartphones on cognitive performance.…”

“…Despite aforementioned studies supporting the detrimental effect of mere presence of smartphones on cognitive performance, several other studies have failed to find any significant differences in task performance between those who were randomly assigned to smartphone presence conditions and smartphone absence conditions (e.g., Bianchi Bosch, 2018;Boila et al, 2020;Foreman-Tran et al, 2019). For instance, a replication study of Thornton et al (2014) by Lyngs (2017) did not find any evidence that the presence of smartphones reduces performance in additive cancelation tasks.…”