The mere presence of a smartphone reduces basal attentional performance.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Experimental controlled study evaluated by design analogy (randomization details not specified in abstract)
PubMed 37291199 · doi:10.1038/s41598-023-36256-4
What was done
Participants aged 20 to 34 completed a concentration and attention test under two conditions: in the presence of a smartphone and in the absence of a smartphone. The experiment evaluated whether the mere physical presence of the device imposes cognitive costs that diminish basal attentional performance.
What was found
The authors reported that the mere presence of a smartphone resulted in lower cognitive performance compared to its absence. The abstract does not provide quantitative data, exact scores, effect sizes, or statistical significance metrics.
Why it matters
This study provides experimental evidence that simply having a smartphone nearby may draw upon limited cognitive resources and reduce baseline attentional capacity in young adults, even without active usage.
Limits
The abstract omits critical methodological details, including the sample size (n), whether the design was randomized or counterbalanced, and whether the comparison was within-subject or between-subject. No numerical results or effect sizes are reported. Findings in a cohort aged 20–34 completing laboratory attention tasks may not generalize to other age groups or everyday cognitive tasks.
Cited by
- supports Having a smartphone in the same room, even if placed face down on a table or in a bag, reduces cognitive performance compared to having the phone in another room.