Full length articleDigitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people
Introduction
Smartphones are the first thing many Americans report reaching for when they wake up in the morning—beating out coffee or even their own significant others, according to a recent survey (Braun Research Inc, 2015). In the same nationally representative survey, almost half of Americans admitted that they could not go a day without their smartphones. Smartphones provide unprecedented access to information, enabling individuals to harness the full resources of the Internet from anywhere. But could this omnipresent access to information carry unforeseen consequences for the fabric of social life?
Smartphones represent a new branch in the evolution of information technology because of two defining characteristics. First, unlike many other computing devices, smartphones are portable and constantly accessible, pervading people's daily lives (Pew Research Center, 2015). Second, unlike other portable sources of information—from simple cell phones to newspapers and maps—smartphones provide connectivity to limitless information on-demand, enabling people to solve a wide variety of everyday problems. It is this pervasive connectivity that theoretically sets smartphones apart from any preceding information tool. There is a great deal of public debate (e.g., Schwartz, 2015, Turkle, 2011, Turkle, 2015), but a dearth of rigorous experimental research on the effects of this emerging technological revolution for social and emotional well-being.
Most existing research relevant to the effects of phones on well-being has focused on apps that are explicitly designed to enable people to connect with others through messaging and social media (e.g., Guillory et al., 2015, Hall and Baym, 2012, Pielot et al., 2014, Pollet et al., 2011, Valkenburg and Peter, 2007). In contrast, very little research has explored whether the use of smartphones for information-seeking (e.g., search engines, Google Maps, Apple Maps) might also influence social outcomes and emotional well-being. And the few existing studies rely on correlational methods, which cannot establish causality (e.g., Kushlev & Proulx, 2016). In the present research, we used experimental methods to investigate how relying on smartphones for information would shape social and emotional well-being. We propose that by enabling people to rely on technology for information anywhere, smartphones may obviate the need for people to rely on each other, thereby leading them to miss out on opportunities to foster a sense of connectedness. We explored this idea by asking participants to solve an everyday problem: finding an unfamiliar building either with or without their smartphones. We chose this particular task because people rank finding directions amongst the most indispensable functions of smartphones (Pew Research Center, 2015).
Section snippets
Theoretical background and hypotheses
According to the principle of least effort (Ferrero, 1894), organisms tend to seek the easiest way to achieve a given outcome. Applying this principle to information-seeking behavior, Mann (1990) argued that people would tend to rely on the most convenient available method of obtaining information. And due to their portability and connectivity to the Internet, smartphones are nothing if not convenient. Indeed, ‘convenience’ was the most frequently mentioned word amongst U.S. poll respondents
Overview
In Study 1, we examined the consequences of relying on phones when looking for a building. We randomly assigned participants to a condition in which they could rely on their phones (phone condition) or a condition in which they could not rely on their phones (phoneless condition).
Pre-registered hypotheses
We preregistered three central hypotheses on the Open Science Framework (see http://tinyurl.com/Directions-Study1-Hypotheses). First, we expected that participants would be less likely to rely on other people if they
Overview & pre-registered hypotheses
The results of Study 1 suggest that when people rely on technology rather than each other to solve an everyday problem, they may miss out on opportunities to cultivate a sense of social connection. In Study 2, we conducted a direct replication with a larger sample. We expected to replicate the significant effects of condition on social interactions, social connectedness, and trust that we observed in Study 1, and we preregistered these hypotheses on OSF (see //tinyurl.com/Directions-Study2-PA1
General discussion
In an initial study and a larger direct replication, we found the first experimental evidence that relying on smartphones for information may compromise opportunities for social connection. Compared to people who were not allowed to use their phones to find a building, those who could rely on their phones talked to fewer people and ended up feeling less socially connected. Of course, phones also conferred an important benefit by reducing the difficulty of this everyday task, with positive
Conclusion
Over 100 years ago, French philosopher Guillaume Ferrero postulated the Principle of Least Effort: Organisms tend to seek the easiest way to achieve the greatest outcome (Ferrero, 1894). Our findings provide evidence for the social costs of the Principle of Least Effort. By easily accessing information on smartphones, people may forgo opportunities to foster a sense of connection through casual social interactions.
Acknowledgments
Funding: This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council [grant number H08–02739] awarded to Elizabeth Dunn.
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