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chrisdh79 OP t1_j8nmsmd wrote

From the article: More frequent smartphone checking behavior is associated with greater incidences of daily cognitive failures, according to new research published in the British Journal of Psychology. However, the new findings also indicate that some forms of screen time are actually associated with reduced cognitive failures.

There are concerns that smartphone use is related to the phenomenon of daily cognitive failures. Research has suggested that frequent smartphone use can lead to cognitive overload and decrease attentional control, which may contribute to cognitive failures such as forgetfulness, distraction, and mind wandering. Additionally, smartphone use can be highly distracting and interruptive, which may interfere with the ability to focus and complete tasks.

“This is a very interesting topic given that smartphone use has become ubiquitous in recent years and has dramatically changed the way people communicate and access information,” said study author Andree Hartanto, an assistant professor of psychology at Singapore Management University.

“It has been suggested that smartphone use may have negative effects on our cognitive processes, leading to daily cognitive failures such as forgetfulness and difficulty in paying attention. However, the evidence is mixed. Given the widespread use of smartphones and the potential impact on daily life, we believe that it is important to examine the relationship between smartphone use and cognitive failures rigorously with a better methodology using a daily dairy approach with objective measures of smartphone use.”

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Kennyvee98 t1_j8o9xom wrote

Only iPhones? That's not really showing the whole picture. Android and iPhone work completely differently.

What kind of apps are being used?

−8

peer-reviewed-myopia t1_j8ogn5w wrote

>The incidence of daily cognitive failures was assessed by the 13-item Cognitive Failures in Everyday Life Scale, in which the participants indicated whether they had experienced cognitive failures such as leaving tasks unfinished due to distraction, failing to remember the right word to use, or unintentionally allowing their mind to wander.

Incidentally, many participants had trouble completing the daily assessment, because they experienced cognitive failures such as leaving sections unfinished due to distraction, failing to remember what they did that day, or unintentionally allowing their mind to wander.

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hookhandsmcgee t1_j8q01qy wrote

The article is putting the cart before the horse. Checking smartphones more often isn't causing more daily cognitive failures. People who are prone to more daily cognitive failures (such as those with ADHD, ASD, anxiety, depression, or any number of other disorders which include executive dysfunction amongst their symptoms) are, as a result, more likely to check their phones frequently throughout the day, whether fo reminders, out of distraction, or just a subconcious search for that hit of dopamine.

Co-relation does not equal causation. Reporters writing about studies pretty much always twist it for an agenda.

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CourageKitten t1_j8q7kej wrote

I have ADHD, which as a disorder is associated with the things the article described as "cognitive failures", such as inattentiveness and forgetfulness (any psychiatrist could tell you that). ADHD is correlated with certain dopamine seeking behaviors, such as frequent phone use. My gut instinct is to say there might be a correlation-not-causation relationship going on here.

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bushidopirate t1_j8qa5dp wrote

Replying to hookhandsmcgee (#1,826,081)

Why not both? It could be a feedback loop where people with attention issues are more likely to check their phones frequently, which further exacerbates their attention issues.

Using your horse-and-cart analogy, I wouldn’t be surprised if the horse initially pulls the cart, but then the cart plummets downhill and starts dragging the horse.

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RiotShields t1_j8qec2k wrote

Replying to bushidopirate (#1,826,836)

The issue here is that if the study only proved correlation, they failed to determine whether the claim they were investigating was true:

> It has been suggested that smartphone use may have negative effects on our cognitive processes

Therefore their interpretation of the results is totally unsupported:

> This suggests that smartphone excessive smartphone checking is a distracting behaviour [sic]

The article says they compared the same individuals across multiple days, but that doesn't investigate whether smartphone use causes distraction or pre-existing distraction causes smartphone use. That's the concern in the original comment.

Also they had a "sample of 181 iPhone users from a local university" which may not be representative of any other demographic.

So while the results may be interesting, we're still far from answering many of the questions we're asking, and we can't yet act positively on this information.

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BBB_1980 t1_j8qkmem wrote

That's why all my notifications have been disabled for years. Plus my phone's constant nagging is annoying.

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Nyrin t1_j8qzpm8 wrote

Replying to crazyplantgoth (#1,826,622)

Or perhaps people with such behavioral patterns idly check their phones more.

Causation is an enormous and unwarranted leap. The correlation is interesting and valuable, but that's still all it is.

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Witty_Interaction_77 t1_j8rl521 wrote

Replying to hookhandsmcgee (#1,826,081)

Honestly. From personal experience, I'd argue both simply based on the total number of people in my study (1, me). I never used to be like this. I forget many words, forget tasks, get distracted more easily, have trouble sitting through a movie, trouble staying on task. I never had this problem till a few years ago (32 years old now). It's been noticeable for me. I've known something is wrong for a time now. Wasn't sure what. Not 100% sure, but this seems like a good explanation of how my mind has changed since after highschool.

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BadAtExisting t1_j8rnewm wrote

Replying to crazyplantgoth (#1,826,622)

These ADHD like symptoms are all very surface level stuff. There’s not the impulsivity or inability to regulate emotions or executive dysfunction listed here. I was diagnosed before everyone had smartphones. I would like to hope diagnosis digs a little deeper than the surface now days, as depression, anxiety, and even autism (also apparently phone addiction) have several parallel symptoms to ADHD.

The surface level stuff would explain all the self diagnosed “ADHD TikTok” assholes running around with their misinformation, though

8

Girafferage t1_j8rxwdw wrote

Replying to Nyrin (#1,828,238)

I wouldn't say that. There are other studies showing that things such as checking your phone while watching a movie or scrolling Facebook while working directly impact your ability to concentrate and recall memories in the long term.

It's not surprising. If you frequently allow yourself to flip between multiple forms of media then you are just conditioning yourself to continue to want to do so in situations where you shouldn't be, such as at work.

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Reasonable-Point4891 t1_j8sdd5w wrote

Replying to floydly (#1,827,155)

Yep, I wasn’t diagnosed until this year because I’ve always done well in school. My personal life was a different story and it wrecked my self-esteem because I couldn’t seem to do the normal/basic things that most people can do. My diagnosis saved my life.

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wasabif t1_j8sjhbc wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,831,939)

ADHD is a neurological disorder that is present at birth. The cause isn’t external, it’s genetic. The American Professional Society of ADHD and Related Disorders have compiled guidelines for diagnosing adults with ADHD. Not because it starts in adulthood, but because they weren’t diagnosed as children. By the time an undiagnosed ADHD child reaches adulthood, they’ve created coping mechanisms (that don’t usually work long term) that makes the test given for children obsolete.

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CourageKitten t1_j8sn1k1 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,831,939)

I personally was diagnosed as a young child, when smartphones didn't exist and my parents were very strict about the screens that did (TV and computer games, which I was only allowed to watch/play educational ones anyway).

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insaneintheblain t1_j93iti7 wrote

The first prediction is if a person lacks the will to not check their phone - they will fundamentally be incapable to leading independently from the cultural opinion-machine - they will continue sucking on that teat, never truly having any of their own life experiences, and forever living vicariously through those who do.

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NoBrainerDrainer t1_j9643ke wrote

I had a well-thought out reply, but suddenly for the life of me I can't remember it.

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