Most existing research assumes "phone use during face-to-face interactions" to be psychosocially detrimental. Drawing on the digital social multitasking framework, this study explored not only the negative but also positive implications of the behavior. A sample of 517 adolescents (M age = 14.83, S.D. = 1.93; 50% female) recruited through the Qualtrics panel completed an online survey. Results showed that adolescents' and their friend's digital social multitasking were both associated with (1) greater perceived efficiency, which, in turn, was associated with competence need satisfaction, and (2) greater perceived connection, which, in turn, was associated with better friendship quality, autonomy need satisfaction, and relatedness need satisfaction. Adolescents' own multitasking also had an indirect, negative relationship with friendship quality through perceived distraction, but friend's multitasking did not compromise friendship quality. The study provides a more balanced picture, showing that despite the potential harm of digital social multitasking, adolescents' phone use during face-to-face peer interactions also involves potential benefits for teens' psychosocial well-being.

Phone use during face-to-face interactions has become increasingly common in adolescents’ social lives, but the mechanisms through which the behavior is associated with adolescents’ socioemotional wellbeing remain understudied. Drawing on the frameworks of digital social multitasking (DSMT) and digital stress, this study examined whether and how three types of digital stress (availability stress, connection overload, and fear of missing out) mediated the association between phone use in friendships and socioemotional wellbeing (depressive symptoms and friendship quality) among adolescents. A sample of 517 adolescents (Mage = 14.83, SD = 1.93) completed an online survey. Results showed that phone use during face-to-face interactions with a friend (i.e., DSMT) had an indirect relationship with greater depressive symptoms through all three types of digital stress. It also had an indirect relationship with better friendship quality via fear of missing out. The paths involving connection overload was moderated by the seriousness of the face-to-face interactions—in more serious interactions, DSMT had an indirect relationship with depressive symptoms, but not friendship quality; in less serious interactions, DSMT had an indirect relationship with friendship quality, but not depressive symptoms. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Introduction: Phone use during face-to-face interactions (i.e., digital social multitasking [DSMT]) is a growing activity among adolescents. DSMT appears to be a risk factor for problematic phone use, but little is known about why adolescents engage in DSMT and how different motives of DSMT would be associated with problematic phone use. Drawing on the framework of DSMT and the uses and gratifications theory, this study explored (1) the motives of adolescent DSMT and (2) the direct and indirect relationships between DSMT motives and problematic phone use via the level and perception of DSMT. Method: The study involved survey data from 517 adolescents in the United States recruited through the Qualtrics panels (M age = 14.83, SD = 1.93) in the fall of 2020. The sample's gender and racial/ethnic distributions were nationally representative. Results: We developed a scale measuring adolescent DSMT motives, which showed that adolescents engaged in DSMT because of enjoyment and connection, boredom, information, and habitual use. The motive of habitual use was associated with problematic phone use both directly and indirectly via level of DSMT and perceived distraction caused by DSMT. The information motive was directly associated with problematic phone use, while the boredom motive was indirectly associated with problematic phone use via perceived distraction. Conversely, the motive of enjoyment and connection was related to lower problematic phone use both directly and indirectly via lower perceived distraction. Conclusion:The study identifies DSMT-related risk and protective factors for problematic phone use. The findings should help adults recognize adaptive versus maladaptive forms of DSMT among adolescents and develop proper guidance and intervention.

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Serving as a prominent framework for online learning, the Community of Inquiry (CoI), identifies three factors critical to learning in online environments: teaching presence, cognitive presence, and social presence. However, application of the CoI framework to face-to-face classes has not been broadly or systematically explored, despite constructivist paradigms (e.g. flipped classrooms, team-based learning) being increasingly incorporated at the post-secondary level. Further, there remains some debate on whether such constructivist environments adequately support learning, with studies on their effectiveness revealing mixed results, as have studies comparing face-to-face and online learning contexts. A tool that measures students’ perceptions of constructivist learning environments could help address such inconsistencies. The purpose of this study was to validate the CoI scale, a measure developed for online contexts, for use in face-to-face contexts. Undergraduates ( n = 282) enrolled in face-to-face classes incorporating team-based learning completed the 34-item CoI scale. Confirmatory Factor Analysis validated the original three-factor structure for face-to-face classes has acceptable fit, suggesting this tool measures teaching, cognitive, and social presences in face-to-face courses. Further suggestions for how this measure might be used for the purposes of research and instructional feedback are included.