A recent study published in the journal Technology, Mind, and Behavior found that smartphones can negatively impact social connectedness and well-being, but the extent of these effects depends on the situation and varies by the gender of the user. Men, in particular, tend to experience a greater negative impact on social connection than women.
In recent years, debates have intensified about whether smartphones and other digital media negatively affect well-being. Some studies have linked increased smartphone use to worsening mental health, while others suggest the impact may be as minor as eating certain foods. One issue with past research is that much of it has been correlational, meaning it can’t definitively say whether phone use causes negative outcomes or if people already feeling disconnected or unhappy turn to their phones more often.
In their new study, the researchers aimed to overcome these limitations by analyzing experimental data to provide clearer insights into how phone use affects well-being in various real-world situations. They wanted to understand not only if phones harm social connection and well-being, but also if the effects depend on the situation.
The researchers conducted a mini mega-analysis, a method that combines and re-analyzes raw data from multiple studies to explore consistent patterns. This approach differs from a typical meta-analysis, which pools summary statistics rather than raw data from the original studies. They compiled data from eight different experiments, involving a total of 1,778 participants. The data came from both published and unpublished experiments, which allowed the researchers to include studies with varying levels of significance, reducing the risk of publication bias and giving a more accurate representation of phone use effects.
Each of the eight experiments manipulated phone use in different settings, such as meals with friends or strangers, waiting alone or with others, or navigating unfamiliar locations. The participants were randomly assigned to either have access to their phones or not. For example, some participants were asked to keep their phones on the table while dining with friends, while others were instructed to put their phones away. After completing the task, participants reported their sense of social connection (e.g., how close or distant they felt from others) and their emotional well-being (measured by their feelings of positivity or negativity during the experiment).
The study was organized into six distinct experimental paradigms:
- Getting directions: College students were tasked with finding an unfamiliar building with or without the use of their phones, focusing on practical information gathering rather than social interaction.
- Parents with children: Parents at museums or festivals were instructed either to use their phones frequently or to minimize phone use during their visits with their children.
- Strong ties meal: Participants shared a meal with close friends or family, with some keeping their phones on the table and others asked to put them away.
- Weak ties meal: Strangers had lunch together, with some keeping their phones out and others putting them away.
- Waiting room together: Participants waited in a room with a stranger, with half allowed to use their phones and the other half restricted from phone use.
- Waiting room alone: Participants waited alone, either with or without their phones.
The researchers found that phones consistently reduced feelings of social connection across all social contexts. In scenarios where participants had their phones, they reported feeling less socially connected to those around them compared to those without phones.
However, when it came to emotional well-being, the effects of phone use were more nuanced and depended on the context. The researchers found that phones negatively affected well-being when used during social interactions, such as meals or shared experiences. In contrast, phones did not have the same negative impact when used for specific tasks, such as finding directions.
An interesting finding was that gender moderated the impact of phones on social connectedness. While both men and women experienced reduced social connection when they had their phones, the effect was significantly stronger in men. In fact, the negative impact of phones on men’s social connectedness was three times larger than it was for women.
The researchers speculated that men and women may have different norms and behaviors when it comes to phone use. For example, women may be more conscious of social etiquette, using their phones more selectively during conversations, which might mitigate the negative impact on social connectedness. Another possibility is that women might use their phones in more socially connected ways, such as texting friends or using social media, which could potentially offset some of the negative effects on social connection. However, these are just hypotheses, and future studies would need to explore these gender dynamics in more detail.
The study also identified several limitations that could be addressed in future research. For one, most participants were undergraduate students and parents from British Columbia, which limits the generalizability of the findings. The effects of phone use may differ in other age groups, cultures, or populations with different social norms around phone usage.
Another limitation was that the study focused on a broad measure of phone use, rather than looking at specific activities. The researchers suggested that future studies should explore how different types of phone use—such as browsing social media, sending text messages, or using apps for work—affect well-being.
Despite these limitations, the study offers important insights into how phone use affects well-being. Its strength lies in the variety of real-world situations it examined, from casual social gatherings to solo activities. The findings suggest that while smartphones are an integral part of modern life, their presence during social interactions may subtly undermine our sense of connection with others.
The study, “Smartphones Undermine Social Connectedness More in Men Than Women: A Mini Mega-Analysis,” was authored by Matthew R. Leitao, Jason D. E. Proulx, and Kostadin Kushlev.
