• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, December 8, 2014

Considering the way that so many of us never seem to put down our smartphones, you’d think they’d be bringing us pleasure. But a new study from Kent State University suggests that the more we text, watch videos, and play games, the less fun we’re likely to have.

The researchers monitored the daily cell phone use of just over 450 college students, then analyzed their personality and how they actually experienced their daily leisure pursuits. Three clear types emerged: low-use extroverts, low-use introverts and a high-use group, which accounted for 25% of the total sample and stayed busy with used their phones an average of 10-plus hours a day. 

These heavy were most likely to have “a diminished experience of daily leisure,” says Associate Professor Andrew Lepp, one of the study’s authors. Apparently, these kids — who filled those hours with lots of multitasking, using the phone while watching TV, talking with friends, studying, eating and driving — “may not have the leisure skills necessary to creatively fill their free time with intrinsically rewarding activities.” 

Lepp tells Marketing Daily that the study did not assess cause and effect. “So we can't say that smartphone use causes the diminished experience of leisure,” he says. “What we know for certain is that high-frequency cell phone users have a significantly diminished experience of leisure compared to the low-use groups.”

By contrast, the low-use extroverts spent just three hours on their phones and were more likely to pursue challenging leisure-time pursuits. And they were also less likely to report either boredom or distress. 

Part of the problem, he says, is that these hyperconnected people may “shy away from challenge during leisure and gravitate to passive, easy, low-skill activities a phone provides,” he says. “These low-skill, low-challenge activities don't contribute much to the enjoyment of leisure.” In fact, these heavy users experienced what the researchers term “leisure distress,” characterized by “feeling uptight, stressed and anxious during free time.” 

It’s not the first time KSU researchers have uncovered troubling effects from smartphone use. Previous research has shown that those who use their phones heavily feel stressed by the connection, and sense an obligation to stay near their phone. And an earlier study found that the more hours people use their phones, the poorer their physical fitness levels.

Frustrated Woman on Phone photo from Shutterstock