Having a smartphone nearby reduces cognitive capacity, even when the phone is turned off, new research shows.
A team of investigators led by Adrian Ward, PhD, assistant professor, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas, Austin, conducted two studies in which close to 800 undergraduate students engaged in a cognitive task with their smartphones placed either nearby and in sight, nearby and out of sight, or in a separate room.
The researchers found that the mere presence of a smartphone adversely affected available cognitive capacity, even when participants were successful at sustaining attention, were not using their phone, and did not report thinking about the phone. These cognitive effects were strongest in those who reported greater smartphone dependence.
"It's not that participants were distracted because they were getting notifications on their phones," said Dr Ward in a press release. "The mere presence of their smartphone was enough to reduce their cognitive capacity."
The study was published online April 3 in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research.
Brain Drain
"The proliferation of smartphones has ushered in an era of unprecedented connectivity," the authors write.
"As individuals increasingly turn to smartphone screens for managing and enhancing their daily lives, we must ask how dependence on these devices affects the ability to think and function in the world off-screen," they add.
