You’re probably thinking “Nope, my phone’s away when I am with my friends”, or “I’m not so dependent on my phone”, and as lovely as that thought is, let’s look at the numbers and see what's up.
Our team started wondering to what extent are phones really with us at all times, and each time we had a meeting- we’d notice all of us had our phones out on the table, next to our laptops, books and pens, while working on this project. Next we began to wonder how many people are really in the same boat as us. So we decided to take a trip to university cafeterias, work spaces, the library, and cafes: all found within Leiden University grounds. What we found turned out to be a bit unexpected.
We went to those spaces and looked at groups (two or more people) sitting down together. We began with the idea that not everybody from a particular group will have their phones out, but that the majority will nonetheless, therefore approximating around 80% of people in a group. The particular groups we targeted were Leiden University students who spent their lunch times (12pm to 1pm) in the mentioned areas. The targeted societal group therefore is LU student millennials, a population sample that has grown up with phone technology, and elaborately uses it in daily functioning life.
In addition, we decided we needed a more concrete way of obtaining information, and sent out a ‘mentimeter’ questionnaire to LU bachelor students. It asked questions based around phone presence or absence in different environmental settings. When asked on the questionnaire where their phones were during social settings, people tended to reply they were stored away from their vision.
Interestingly enough, we found that not less than 90-100% of LU student millennials among all observed groups had their phones out on the tables they were sitting at! Whether sitting and enjoying a coffee or a meal by themselves, or sitting together with peers- millennials always had their phones out. This indicates that as our phones grew with us as we ourselves did; it seems they have become an extension of our minds to an extent that we don’t even consciously realise their presence, only their absence. Think about it, we hold our notes, timed reminders, schedules, period calendars, maps on our phones, so we don’t have to store them inside our minds.
What did catch our attention though was the difference in millennials’ phones’ presence and generation X’s phones’ presence. Millennials, whether with others or alone- always had their phones out. Older ones? Entirely different situation. Regardless of whether they were alone or in a group- not a single generation Xer had their phone in sight!
We also noticed that there were quite a few groups that not only had their phones visible while with friends: they were also using those devices while with people. Some were multitasking, so talking and scrolling their touch screens; others were scrolling in silence. People seem not to be aware of this entirely either, as there seems to be a difference between questionnaire responses and our observation counts.
Moreover, when asked what a phone represents to a person, majority tended to agree on ‘connection’ and ‘communication’.
This is quite interesting. Connection and communication with your phone. But a divided attention and partial communication with a friend sitting on the other side of the table from you.
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