- Putting phone on silent to avoid distractions can backfire.
- Experts says there is no standard solution to resolve problem of smartphone distraction.
- When study participants put phone on silent, they check phone 98.2 times daily.
A team of researchers from Penn State have found that putting smartphone on silent mode to avoid distractions could lead to people checking their phones even more frequently.
The study published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior showed that people who scored high on the “need to belong” and “fear of missing out” on personality batteries checked their phone more often after putting them on silent.
Experts also said that there was no standard solution to resolve the problem of smartphone distraction.
“The general approach to overcoming addiction is by cutting back on that substance,” says S Shyam Sundar, James P Jimirro Professor of Media Effects in the Donald P Bellisario College of Communications and co-director of the Media Effects Research Laboratory.
He said that there was no evidence whether methods of cutting down on smartphone use like muting notifications or curbing access to phone were psychologically effective.
Data was collected from 138 iPhone users.
This work is based on data collected from the screen time monitoring tool of 138 iPhone users.
When the phone was on a notifying mode like vibration or audio-alert, people checked their phones 52.9 times a day. In a marked contrast, phones were checked 98.2 times daily when the devices were on silent mode.
Experts concluded that different people react differently to technology and its features. Therefore, before developing healthier tech habits it is important to understand the personality.
