Likes and impulsivity: Investigating the relationship between actual smartphone use and delay discounting

Abstract

The omnipresence of smartphones among adolescents and adults gives rise to the questions about excessive use and personality factors which are associated with heavier engagement with these devices. Previous studies have found behavioral similarities between smartphone use and maladaptive behaviors (e.g. drinking, gambling, drug abuse) in the context of intertemporal choice but mostly relied on participants’ self-reports regarding engagement with their phone. In this study, we collected actual usage data by smartphone application from 101 participants and assessed their tendency to discount future rewards, their reward responsiveness, self-control and consideration of future consequences. We found that smartphone screen time was correlated with choosing smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards and that usage of social media and gaming apps predicted delay discounting. Additionally, smartphone use was negatively correlated with self-control but not correlated with consideration of future consequences. Neither psychological variable could mediate the relationship between smartphone usage and delay discounting. Our findings provide further evidence that smartphone use and impulsive decision-making go hand in hand and that engagement with these devices needs to be critically examined by researchers to guide prudent behavior.

Influence of Technostress on Academic Performance of University Medicine Students in Peru during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…When the traditional telephone was a fixed device in the home or office, there was a degree of freedom that has been lost since smartphones have become almost omnipresent [79]. The use of mobile phones has caused people to be able to be localized anytime and everywhere via various communication apps and social networks, which has led to a feeling of urgency to respond, even at the expense of interrupting work and academic and/or social life, which can lead to a high level of communication overload [80,81]. This has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic because social isolation has increased the need for virtual communication [56].…”

Addictive use of digital devices in young children: Associations with delay discounting, self-control and academic performance

“…The present data suggest that children’s ability to control thoughts and emotions is the mechanism underlying the association between delay discounting and addictive use and thus is a superior predictor of problematic behavior towards digital devices. Existing studies focusing on smartphone use and delay discounting found mixed results on a mediating role of self-control (mediation see Wilmer & Chein [ 45 ], no mediation see Schulz van Endert & Mohr [ 24 ]). Due to the cross-sectional and observational nature of the data, no conclusion with regard to mediation can be made in this present study [ 46 ].…”

“…parents, teachers or peers) or even actual screen time data, as shown in e.g. Schulz van Endert & Mohr [ 24 ]. Third, due its novelty the DASC has not yet undergone extensive validation yet.…”

“…Given that the discounting of future rewards is not only related to substance-based but also to behavioral addictions, this raises the question if delay discounting is also associated with addictive use of digital devices. Past studies have only been able to show relationships between delay discounting and single aspects of digital use, such as internet gaming [ 23 ] or smartphone screen time [ 24 ]. In addition, the samples studied consisted of adolescents or adults, despite regular use of digital devices already starting in childhood [ 2 ].…”

Delay Discounting of Monetary and Social Media Rewards: Magnitude and Trait Effects

“…Lastly, recent studies have found an association between screen time, i.e., time spent with a smartphone, laptop or tablet, and delay discounting (Wilmer and Chein, 2016;Schulz van Endert and Mohr, 2020). While the direction of causality is unknown, people who spend more time with digital devices tend to choose more impulsively in delay discounting tasks with monetary rewards.…”