Social media and gaming, not total screen time, went along with preferring the immediate option
Among 101 iPhone users, social media and gaming use went along with choosing a smaller immediate reward. Total screen time did not.
The key idea
How a phone was used mattered, not just how long: active use was linked to choosing the immediate reward, while total time was not.
The study, in plain language
The team photographed the battery-usage screen on each iPhone, showing recent days, and compared it with a hypothetical task: choosing a smaller amount now or a larger amount later. Separating active apps from more passive uses helped show which part of screen time went along with these choices.
Total active use, especially social media and gaming, went along with more choices of the immediate reward. When all screen time was combined, the pattern faded. What people thought they used also differed substantially from what the records showed.
The type of app and the way use was measured raised different questions that a single screen-time figure would have hidden. This was observational: the study cannot show whether use encourages immediate choices, whether the reverse is true, or whether something else explains the association.
What they found
- People who spent more time in active apps chose a smaller, earlier reward more often.
- The association appeared for social media and gaming use, but not for total screen time.
- Many people misjudged their own screen time: most overestimated it.
How they studied it
One hundred one iPhone users provided battery-usage records from the previous seven to ten days and completed a hypothetical reward-choice task, along with questionnaires and another test. The team photographed the phone screens. No one was assigned to use a phone more or less; the team only compared data. The study was observational, and task rewards were hypothetical, not real money.
What the study cannot show
- Records covered about one week and included only iPhones. Browser content could not be identified, and rewards were hypothetical, so the associations do not establish what causes what or represent real financial decisions.
Something to think about
If you want to know how much you use your phone, comparing your impression with the phone’s record may be surprising: only 12% here estimated within the correct range. It is a question for you, not a promise of improved self-control.
The original study
Likes and impulsivity: Investigating the relationship between actual smartphone use and delay discounting
Source under CC BY 4.0. English adaptation and explanation by PaperFlow, with AI assistance. The text has been reorganized for a general audience; it is not the complete paper and does not imply endorsement by its authors.
One study alone does not represent a field's consensus. Educational content does not replace professional advice. Report a possible error.
