In recent years, we often hear the term “smartphone addiction”. This disease is described as “If you can’t stop using your smartphone despite various problems, such as the reversal of day and night due to continued use of your smartphone, and a significant drop in your grades, you will feel irritated and calm if you continue to be unable to use your smartphone. It refers to the state of becoming mentally dependent, such as disappearing” (Toho University Medical Center). Turning off notifications for emails and social media is one of the “remedies” for this, but it seems that this method can actually be counterproductive.
Researchers at Pennsylvania State University in the United States investigated the use of SNS and smartphones among 138 iPhone users, male and female, with an average age of 36. Using the tool “Screen Time” that allows you to check the time you are looking at the smartphone screen, investigate the usage time and frequency of holding the smartphone. Regarding the notification sound of the smartphone, we asked them to freely set the sound setting, vibration only setting, silent mode (silent mode) with notifications turned off, etc.
As a result, it turned out that people with the mute mode checked the screen with their smartphones more frequently than those with the notification function turned on. If you turn off the notification function, you will be in a hurry to wonder if you have missed a message or email, and in order to reduce this psychological distress, the time you use your smartphone will be longer rather than reduced. That’s it.
complex social psychology
If you turn notifications off, you may be the FOMO type. FOMO is an abbreviation of “Fear of Missing Out,” which expresses the fear of being left behind by the people around us. called “Joy of Missing Out (JOMO)”). We found that people with low FOMO tendencies used their smartphones less frequently when they switched to silent mode, whereas those with high FOMO tendencies checked their smartphones more frequently when they switched to silent mode. rice field.
At the same time, it also became clear that people with a strong sense of belonging, who are members of some group, spend more time using their smartphones, just like people with FOMO.
In response to this result, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University suggested, “You should reconsider the idea of recommending people with smartphone addiction to turn off notifications.” Perhaps we should think about the treatment of smartphone addiction from a broader perspective, such as personality, background, work style, and human relationships.
[Sources and References]
Mengqi Liao, S. Shyam Sundar, Sound of silence: Does Muting Notifications Reduce Phone Use?, Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 134, 2022, 107338, ISSN 0747-5632, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2022.107338.
Toho University Medical Center Omori Hospital Mental Health Center “About smartphone addiction”
https://www.lab.toho-u.ac.jp/med/omori/mentalhealth/mental/smartphone_dependence/index.html