Smartphones affect your ability to focus and perform tasks, new study reveals

TEXAS, U.S. - With a lot being written about the harmful signals that are emitted by a smartphone, and its effects on a person’s health - now a study that set out to do the same has revealed some stark facts. 

The research led by McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin revealed that having a smartphone within reach reduces brain power. 

The findings of the study were published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research and showed that a smartphone, whether it is within sight or within easy reach – even if it is switched off – can reduce a user’s ability to focus and perform tasks because part of the brain is actively working to not pick up or use the phone.

Adrian Ward, Assistant Professor at McCombs said in a statement, “We see a linear trend that suggests that as the smartphone becomes more noticeable, participants’ available cognitive capacity decreases.”

He further explained, “Your conscious mind isn’t thinking about your smartphone, but that process — the process of requiring yourself to not think about something — uses up some of your limited cognitive resources. It’s a brain drain.”

Researchers reportedly conducted experiments with nearly 800 smartphone users - for the first time ever, to measure how well people can complete tasks when they have their smartphones nearby even when they are not using them.

They noted that before beginning, participants were randomly instructed to place their smartphones either on the desk face down, in their pocket or personal bag, or in another room.

All participants were instructed to turn their phones to silent.

In one of the experiments, researchers reportedly asked study participants to sit at a computer and take a series of tests that required full concentration in order to score well.

Meanwhile, in another experiment with similar tests, the researchers found that participants who were the most dependent on their smartphones performed worse compared with their less-dependent peers.

However, this happened only when they kept their smartphones on the desk or in their pocket or bag.

Researchers noted that the experiment also showed that it did not matter whether a person’s smartphone was turned on or off, or whether it was lying face up or face down on a desk.

According to Ward, “It’s not that participants were distracted because they were getting notifications on their phones. The mere presence of their smartphone was enough to reduce their cognitive capacity.”

They later revealed that the tests were geared to measure participants’ available cognitive capacity — that is, the brain’s ability to hold and process data at any given time.

The researchers concluded that participants with their phones in another room significantly outperformed those with their phones on the desk.

They also slightly outperformed participants who kept their phones in their pocket or bag.

The study suggested that the mere presence of one’s smartphone reduces available cognitive capacity and impairs cognitive functioning, even though people feel they are giving their full attention and focus to the task at hand.