23/03/2018 - Having Your Smartphone Nearby Takes a Toll on Your Thinking

By Kristen Duke, Adrian Ward, Ayelet Gneezy, and Maarten Bos  MARCH 20, 2018

“Put your phone away” has become a commonplace phrase that is just as often dismissed. Despite wanting to be in the moment, we often do everything within our power to the contrary. We take out our phones to take pictures in the middle of festive family meals, and send text messages or update our social media profiles in the middle of a date or while watching a movie. At the same time, we are often interrupted passively by notifications of emails or phone calls. Clearly, interacting with our smartphones affects our experiences. But can our smartphones affect us even when we aren’t interacting with them—when they are simply nearby? more...