MyTime

Self-Control in Cyberspace

“…35,199]. Here, an accumulating body of evidence suggests that a majority of people experience difficulties with self-control over device use [78,93,94,101,108,195]. For example, in a survey by Ko et al [94], a majority of smartphone users felt they were overusing their devices (64%) and wanted to change their usage habits (60%).…”

“…80, 104, 152]. In addition to a growing amount of evidence from such surveys [78,93], the wealth of articles and opinion pieces that in recent years have appeared on the topic in major news outlets, viral blog posts, and popular science books [e.g. 7,62,75,91,147,201], as well as the fact that Apple, Google, and Facebook perceive a sufficiently large demand for features supporting user self-control to respond [11,68,153], suggest that day-to-day struggles with self-regulation over device use are very common.…”

“…System 2 control is driven by goals, intentions, and rules held in conscious working memory [14,124]. From these central representations, signals are sent to cognitive systems that AppDetox, an Android app which let users voluntarily create rules intended to keep them from certain apps None Collins et al 2014 [37] RescueTime, a commercial Windows/Mac application which provides visualisations of how much time is spent in different applications Cognitive Load theory [26] Lee et al 2014 [100] SAMS, an Android app for tracking smartphone usage and setting time limits for app use Relapse prevention model [70,198], clinical guidelines for internet addiction [205] Ko et al 2015 [94] NUGU, a smartphone app which let users set goals for limiting usage, then share performance with friends and receive encouragement Social Cognitive Theory [15] Andone et al 2016 [9] Menthal, a smartphone app displaying the 'MScore', a single number summarising overall phone usage, as well as a series of main usage measures None Hiniker et al 2016 [78] MyTime, an Android app showing time spent in apps (and whether a daily limit was hit) plus a daily prompt asking what the user wished to achieve None Kim et al 2016 [90] TimeAware, an ambient Windows and Mac widget which presents time spent in 'distracting' or 'productive' applications Framing effects [118] Ko et al 2016 [93] Lock n' LoL, a smartphone app which lets users as a group set their phones in a lock mode in which notifications are muted and usage restricted None Ruan et al 2016 [154] PreventDark, an Android app which detects phone use in the dark and notifies the user that they should put it away None Whittaker et al 2016 [195] MeTime, a computer application providing a floating visualisation of time spent in different applications within the last 30 mins PomodoLock, a PC and Android application plus Chrome extension which blocks distracting apps and websites during 25 minute focus sessions Strength model of self-control [18] Marotta et al 2017 [117] Freedom, a commercial Windows/Mac/Android/iOS app which blocks access to distracting parts of the web or the internet altogether Rational choice, 'self-commitment' [31] Kovacs et al 2018 [97] HabitLab, a Chrome extension in which the user sets time limit goals for specific sites, then tries a range of interventions to reach the goal Numerous, including goal setting theory [106], operant conditioning [16]<...>…”

“…In response, a recent movement in HCI has called for more research into intentional 'non-use' of information and communication technologies (ICTs) [19,78,158]. Initial work looked into why some users quit, or take breaks from Facebook [19], Twitter [159], or other social networking sites, and a substantial body of related research has now established that a majority of users feel conflicted about the time they spend with internet-connected digital technologies and struggle with effective self-control [8,63,93,94,101,108,148,173].…”

“…190]. Moreover, new design interventions developed by HCI researchers have mostly been informed by user interviews and intuitions of interface designers [78,105,195], or by theories including cognitive load theory [37], Social Cognitive Theory [94] and nudge theory [90,136]. Meanwhile, the dual systems and valuebased models prominent in current cognitive neuroscience research on self-regulation 1 [22,28,165,168,191,200] have yet to be applied [cf.…”