Why We Fail to Understand Our Smartphone Use (VIDEO)

Lancaster University

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Checking your phone dozens of times a day indicates unconscious behavior, which is 'extremely repetitive' say psychologists. 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 behavior has revealed that while people underestimate time spent on their smartphones, their behavior is remarkably consistent.

  • Smartphone usage is repetitive and consistent for each person
  • Future phone checking frequency can be predicted with very little data
  • A standard survey was unable to predict these behaviors
If you check your phone 80 times today, you are likely to repeat this behaviour every day. Dr Tom Wilcockson from Lancaster University said: "Multiple checks could indicate an absent minded use of mobile phones, which is habitual and unconscious"

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Lancaster University

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