The Smartphone as a Pacifying Technology

Abstract

In light of consumers’ growing dependence on their smartphones, this article investigates the nature of the relationship that consumers form with their smartphone and its underlying mechanisms. We propose that in addition to obvious functional benefits, consumers in fact derive emotional benefits from their smartphone—in particular, feelings of psychological comfort and, if needed, actual stress relief. In other words, in a sense, smartphones are not unlike adult pacifiers. This psychological comfort arises from a unique combination of properties that turn smartphones into a reassuring presence for their owners: the portability of the device, its personal nature, the subjective sense of privacy experienced while on the device, and the haptic gratification it affords. Results from one large-scale field study and three laboratory experiments support the proposed underlying mechanisms and document downstream consequences of the psychological comfort that smartphones provide. The findings show, for example, that (a) in moments of stress, consumers exhibit a greater tendency to seek out their smartphone (study 2); and (b) engaging with one’s smartphone provides greater stress relief than engaging in the same activity with a comparable device such as one’s laptop (study 3) or a similar smartphone belonging to someone else (study 4).

Full Disclosure: How Smartphones Enhance Consumer Self-Disclosure

“…In the space below please describe what made you upset, including your thoughts and feelings about the topic or event.After participants completed the disclosure task, they were asked to use the same device to respond to a set of scales that measured the proposed drivers of depth of disclosure: Psychological comfort. Participants responded to five items adapted from Melumad and Pham (2020) that measured the extent to which they associated feelings of psychological comfort with the use of their assigned device (1 = “Not true at all,” and 7 = “Very true”): (1) “Using my smartphone (PC) provides a source of comfort,” (2) “Having my smartphone (PC) with me makes me feel secure,” (3) “When I am using my smartphone (PC) I feel I am in my safe space,” (4) “Just holding my smartphone (PC), no matter what I do with it, makes me feel comforted,” and (5) “Touching or holding my smartphone (PC) makes me feel calmer.” Responses to these items were averaged into an index of “psychological comfort” (α = .88). Attentional narrowing on disclosure. Participants indicated the extent to which they agreed with each of three statements about how they felt while writing about their personal experience: (1) “I drowned out my environment when writing,” (2) “I got lost in what I was writing,” and (3) “I felt a sense of privacy when writing” (1 = “Not true at all,” and 5 = “Very true”).…”

“…The first factor that we argue enhances depth of disclosure on one’s smartphone versus PC is the increased psychological comfort that consumers tend to derive from their phone (e.g., Clayton, Leshner, and Almond 2015; Vahedi and Saiphoo 2018). For example, Melumad and Pham (2020) found that after an induction of stress, participants assigned to engage in a task on their smartphone reported a greater increase in psychological comfort (and thus, greater relief from stress) than those assigned to engage in the same task on their laptop, or even an otherwise similar smartphone belonging to someone else.…”

“…The enhanced feeling of comfort associated with one’s smartphone (vs. other devices) is thought to arise from a unique combination of positive, personal associations with the device (Melumad and Pham 2020). For example, whereas PCs tend to be used more for work purposes, smartphones are often relied on for texting with friends and family, watching entertaining videos, or catching up on social media updates (e.g., Panova and Carbonell 2018; Skierkowski and Wood 2012).…”

“…Moreover, given their portability, smartphones are almost always within arm’s reach—in one’s pocket or purse during the day, by one’s bedside at night—such that consumers learn that they can rely on their smartphone to engage in these personal activities whenever and wherever they want (e.g., Cheever et al 2014). As a result, the device becomes a general source of comfort and security for owners (Melumad and Pham 2020).…”

In Times of Trouble: A Framework for Understanding Consumers’ Responses to Threats

“…Some consumers are likely to prefer logos and products that are themselves bounded to compensate for the feelings of loss of control ( Cutright 2012 ). In addition, Melumad and Pham (2020) show that consumers turn to their smartphone when feeling stressed and the personal nature, portability, and haptic gratification offer stress relief and psychological comfort. Marcoux (2017) uncovers how New Yorkers used souvenirs both to remember and forget the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in New York in 2001.…”