Simply Having Your Mobile Phones Around Can Make You Focus Better: Study

For about 96% of Americans, smartphones have become an inseparable part of their daily lives. The hand-held devices have not only changed the way people communicate but also the way they socialize and think.

Experts at the School of Journalism and Communication sought to find out if people’s brains and bodies get affected when their smartphones are out of reach or when they are within reach but not usable.

They wanted to understand the psychology of communication behavior alongside language patterns and the way media impacts social and physical processes. They studied how individuals responded when exercising self-control with their smartphone devices.

The study included 125 individuals who were assigned to three different groups. The participants were asked to sit alone in an empty room for six minutes but they weren’t informed about the duration.

The first group of study participants were asked to entertain themselves with their smartphones but were restricted to make phone calls or send text messages. The second group was asked to leave their smartphones outside the room and remain seated inside the room and entertained with their own thoughts. The last group of participants was allowed to keep their phones but instructed to have their faces turned downwards placed in a table in front and were asked to entertain themselves with their own thoughts.

The researchers used a fingertip device to measure skin conductance, which is an indicator of arousal. They also measured the participants’ enjoyment levels, difficulty in concentration, mind wandering and their general mood.

The findings of the study revealed that individuals without their smartphones found it very difficult to concentrate compared to those who were allowed to use their phones. Those participants who had to resist using their smartphones had greater perceived concentration abilities.

"The surprising finding for me was the reduction in concentration difficulty when people had to resist using the phone. At least having it front of you was psychologically better than not having it all," study’s lead author Dave Markowitz said. "Having some form of external stimulation, even if it wasn't used, I think that can focus the mind a bit,” he added.