The psychology of mobile technology and daily mobility.

Abstract

T he fact that mobile technologies can be used almost anywhere makes them seem almost placeless, as if they were independent from their surrounding environments. Theorists, designers, and researchers have long heralded the possibilities of mobile media to circumvent spatial constraints (see Campbell, 2019;McLuhan, 1964). Yet, over time it has become clear that this projection of mobile capabilities is overstated (Frith, 2015;Humphreys et al., 2018). In this chapter, we review how the use of mobile media is deeply embedded in and shaped by the spatial contexts that we inhabit in our daily lives. Consequently, our understanding of mobile technologies, including their psychological effects, must be grounded in an understanding of daily mobility: how people move through everyday spaces.To illustrate, consider an individual, Jerry, who plays the popular (as of 2020) mobile game Candy Crush. Jerry's total usage of Candy Crush can be considered an aggregation of playing the game in a variety of spatial

Perceived vs. observed mHealth behavior: A naturalistic investigation of tracking apps and daily movement

“…Indeed, some work suggests that people do use tracking apps more for selfmonitoring than for exercise or fitness (Payne et al, 2015), undermining the notion that mHealth apps are meant to enact direct behavior change. Taken together, our two studies illustrate the complex relationships between mobile media and everyday movement, along with the need for research to further investigate their links (Ross et al, 2022). It may be that the proposed, or presumed, effects of tracking apps on physical activity are more indirect.…”

“…From a methodological standpoint, we showcase the potential of measuring movement for mobile communication and media psychology studies (Bayer et al, 2023;Ross et al, 2022), with special relevance in contested areas of research such as mHealth. In doing so, our investigation illustrates the importance of measuring both self-reported and logged outcomes to gain a fuller picture of daily technology and health behaviors.…”

“…Our media behaviors are now deeply synced with our daily mobility patterns (Pawlak, 2020; Ross et al, 2022; Singleton, 2019; von Pape, 2020;). By allowing users to record and reflect on their movement (or “steps”) with just a few swipes, mHealth apps streamline the process of tracking and self-evaluating our physical activity via daily movement.…”

Perceived vs. Observed mHealth Behavior: A Naturalistic Investigation of Tracking Apps and Daily Movement

“…Our media behaviors are now deeply synced with our daily mobility patterns (Pawlak, 2020;Singleton, 2019;von Pape, 2020;Ross et al, 2022). By allowing users to record and reflect on their movement (or "steps") with just a few swipes, mHealth apps streamline the process of tracking and self-evaluating our physical activity via everyday movement.…”

Analyzing GPS Data for Psychological Research: A Tutorial

“…Human movement patterns have received attention across an array of psychological research areas (Ross et al, in press), including clinical psychology (e.g., depression; Cornet & Holden, 2018) and personality psychology (e.g., Big Five traits; Alessandretti et al, 2018; Stachl et al, 2020). The newfound attention to movement patterns in psychology follows the rise in access to location data collected throughout individuals’ daily lives and increasing interest in the importance of situations and environments for understanding human behavior (Rauthmann, 2021).…”