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Checking your phone dozens of times a day indicates unconscious behaviour, which is "extremely repetitive" say psychologists. A study by Lancaster University and the University of Lincoln is unique in that it is one of a few studies that examined smartphone usage based on what people do rather than what they can remember.
Existing research is yet to conclude whether people really are 'addicted' to their smartphones due to over reliance on people's own estimates or beliefs.
But new research into smartphone behaviour has revealed that while people underestimate time spent on their smartphones, their behaviour is remarkably consistent, thus enabling a more rigorous approach to the study of smartphone behaviours. The researchers analysed usage over 13 days using a simple smartphone app which time stamped when usage began and ended. From this data, they were able to calculate the number of total hours usage and the number of checks for each day, with a check defined as any usage lasting less than 15 seconds.
For example, the researchers found that if you check your phone 80 times today, you are likely to repeat this behaviour every day.
[...] Dr Ellis said: "To fully understand the effect of screen time on health and well-being, we probably need to consider measures of smartphone behaviour as well as self-report.
(Score: 2) by requerdanos on Saturday May 26 2018, @03:01PM
I respect and salute their using the "app for that" phenomenon to gather data in order to be able to make evidence-based decisions.
Absolute hogwash. To greatly improve the accuracy in the above statement in an evidence-based fashion, replace the "emphasized" text with "the survey participants but not necessarily anyone else".
If I check my phone 80 times on a particular day (a normally unheard-of amount), it means I am checking arrivals and departures to see if a plane has landed carrying a passenger I'm supposed to pick up, or I am checking to see whether an expected package that I need has been delivered to a post office box or not, or other some such. These happenings don't happen every day or even every month in reality, no matter what happens in the alternate universe where these folks are drawing their overbroad conclusions.