Smartphones Can Hinder Attention Span and Problem-Solving Skills
Research published in the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research The research involved several experiments with 520 college students, who completed tasks that required focus and problem-solving skills. Certain students were told to leave smartphones in a different room; others were told to place them in their pockets or bags; another group kept the phones at their desks.
Focus and general performance were connected to smartphone proximity. In other words, the results were best when the smartphone was left in a different room (away from the student), while the worst results were when the phone was right on the desk. Also, the impact of the smartphone’s location was most dramatic for people who noted being very reliant on their phones. (Source: Harvard)
