Are Smartphones Outsmarting Us? Examining the effects that smartphone presence has on connectedness to nature and well-being

Project Title

Are Smartphones Outsmarting Us? Examining the effects that smartphone presence has on connectedness to nature and well-being

Faculty Mentor(s)

Project Description

Project Description: 

The average person spends 90% of their time indoors, with a study conducted before COVID-19 revealing that the average adult spends 17 hours of their time looking at screens daily. This figure has only increased dramatically after the pandemic, with the average American adult’s screen time per day translating to 44 years over an average lifetime of 60.7 years; that is a total of 382,652 hours and 48 minutes! With smartphones becoming increasingly utilized in daily life, it is important to know how they are affecting every aspect of health. Social psychology research has observed the effects of smartphones and technology on social interactions but research in this field has yet to be done on the effect that smartphones have on other forms of connectedness. Might the presence of a cell phone disrupt the relationship between connection to nature and mental health benefits? Analyses will evaluate whether having a smartphone decreased mindfulness and well-being and whether this effect is mediated by connectedness to nature.
 

Why is your research important?

Addiction to smartphones has been associated with communication skill deficits, inability to form relationships, decreasing attention spans, and the mental health crisis. If our predictions are supported, spending time in nature without smartphones has the potential to address such negative effects.
 

What does the process of doing your research look like?

Depending on what stage of research I was in, the research process looked different. When I was designing my study in the first semester, I was doing a lot of reading and literature reviews to find a gap in research within the field of psychology. After the study was designed and approved by the IRB, I began running my in-person sessions in the Greenhouse (on the roof of the Science Center), recruiting PSYC 100 students to test the study design. This involved a lot of logistical planning, as well as adjusting to unaccounted factors in the second semester. In the third semester of honors, I continued to collect data with the help of my research assistants and also transferred participants' responses from paper to SPSS for data analysis. In my last semester, I wrapped up my research and finished the writing stage.
 

What knowledge has your research contributed to your field?

So far, with the data I have collected, there is no evidence that the presence of a smartphone impacts connectedness to nature or its benefits. However, my findings have further supported evidence that exposure to nature has many positive benefits, no matter the condition the participants were placed in (phone or no phone). In terms of future studies, research could include exposing participants to nature for a longer period of time, observe generational differences in smartphone addiction, and compare smartphone presence and smartphone use in nature. If smartphones have the potential to enhance experiences outdoors, in turn increasing connectedness to nature, some questions that could be asked are: Can photographing nature deepen connection? Can looking at those photos later further increase feelings of connectedness?
 

In what ways have you showcased your research thus far?

Most recently, I presented a poster of my honors research at the SPSP 2024 Annual Conference in San Diego, CA (February 2024). I have also participated in panels and the lab crawl with OUR to discuss getting into research and how to do honors in Psychology. Though I did not present my honors research here, I also attended the 2023 APS Annual Convention in Washington, D.C. (May 2023), in which research that I co-authored was presented. I presented my honors research at the Psychology Department reception in May and also presented at the the Undergraduate Symposium in April.
 

How did you get involved in research? What drove you to seek out research experiences in college?

I discovered my passion for research in my freshman year of college, after taking my first Psychology class and learning about famous psychological studies. I read about Professor Frantz, Petersen, and Shammin's research related to Environmental Psychology, and had the opportunity to join them as a research assistant for a semester. Since then, I have not stopped seeking out more opportunities to be involved in different research experiences.
 

What is your favorite aspect of the research process?

My favorite aspect of the research process was working to design the study and eventually run it in-person. I enjoyed thinking through what measures would best demonstrate my goals, as well as going through the trial and error of testing these theories on actual participants; in the beginning, many things didn't go as planned, especially because humans are unpredictable!

 

How has working with your mentor impacted the development of your research project? How has it impacted you as a researcher?

I am so grateful to have been able to work with Professor Frantz for many years, she has guided, supported, and encouraged me through every step of my research experiences at Oberlin. I joined her environmental psychology lab for a semester, then later joined her in the Oberlin-in-London Program for another semester. These experiences allowed me to get to work with her as both a research assistant and a student. During my semester abroad, we worked to develop my honors project, and upon returning to campus, continued working together to run the study. She has helped me grow to be more independent and confident as a researcher.
 

How has the research you’ve conducted contributed to your professional or academic development?  

Academically, getting an introduction to the research world has made me a more curious student. I hope to continue exploring new research opportunities in graduate school. The experiences I have had due to participating in research has also lead me to seek out professional experiences that I truly feel passionate about, and that I know make a positive difference in the community.
 

What advice would you give to a younger student wanting to get involved in research in your field?

My biggest piece of advice for students is not to be scared to try and get into research, especially at Oberlin. There are so many different projects with amazing professors, and you are bound to find a topic that fits your interests.