Does Reducing Screen Time Increase Productivity? Not Necessarily | NewsCenter | SDSU - SDSU Newscenter

Have you ever been accused (or accused idiosyncratic else) of wasting excessively overmuch clip by looking astatine a cellphone? Turns out, that clip mightiness not beryllium wasted clip astatine all. 

According to probe by Kaveh Abhari of San Diego State University and Isaac Vaghefi of City University of New York, utilizing existing smartphone applications to show cellphone surface clip tin heighten focused oregon mindful cellphone usage, which, successful turn, leads to higher perceived productivity and idiosyncratic satisfaction. The probe was published successful September successful AIS Transactions connected Human-Computer Interaction (THCI). 

The Positive Effect of Self-Monitoring

Abhari, an subordinate prof of absorption accusation systems astatine SDSU’s Fowler College of Business, and Vaghefi (assistant prof of accusation systems astatine the Zicklin School of Business astatine Baruch College) said portion determination was important probe establishing the antagonistic effects of cellphone surface clip (intolerance, withdrawal, and struggle with job-related tasks), their probe was designed to find if self-regulatory behaviors could pb to modified idiosyncratic behaviour for much affirmative outcomes. 

“We theorized that individuals who tracked their cellphone usage and acceptable goals surrounding that usage tended to person enhanced productivity and contentment with their productivity arsenic they met their stated objectives,” said Abhari. “Previous probe has shown that extremity mounting tends to rise show expectations and we wanted to spot if this mentation held existent for smartphone surface clip arsenic well.” 

Putting it to the Test

To marque this determination, the researchers surveyed 469 participating assemblage undergraduate students successful California, New York, and Hawaii. The three-week survey required each participants to implicit 4 questionnaires and astir fractional of them were required to download a screen-monitoring exertion to their phones. This app allowed users to show and acceptable limits oregon goals with their cellphone surface time.  

When the results were analyzed, researchers measured the perceived productivity of surface clip reported by those surveyed, arsenic good arsenic the magnitude of surface clip and the fatigue associated with self-monitoring. They besides reviewed participants’ contentment with their productivity achieved done cellphone surface time.

“Self-monitoring appears indispensable to promote the optimized usage of smartphones,” said Abhari. “The results suggest that optimizing but not minimizing surface clip is much apt to summation idiosyncratic productivity.” 

The Effect of Fatigue

However, the researchers besides recovered that self-monitoring induces fatigue and weakens the effect connected productivity, though it was not a important origin affecting the narration betwixt self-monitoring and contentment with productivity achievement. 

In conclusion, Abhari and Vaghefi determined that portion uncontrolled cellphone usage (or cellphone addiction) could negatively interaction people’s lives, monitored surface clip — peculiarly monitored surface clip with circumstantial goals successful caput — tin effect successful affirmative outcomes and higher wide idiosyncratic satisfaction.

“This survey could pb strategy developers to embed features into mobile devices that alteration self-monitoring,” said Abhari. “These features could amended prime surface clip and heighten the narration betwixt humans and integer technology.”