Cited by 205Impact of Technology on AdolescentsInnovative Human-Technology InteractionPersonal Information Management and User Behavior

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What Makes Smartphone Use Meaningful or Meaningless?

Lukoff, Kai, Yu, Cissy, Kientz, Julie, Hiniker, Alexis·2018·Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies

DOI 10.1145/3191754

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Abstract

Prior research indicates that many people wish to limit aspects of their smartphone use. Why is it that certain smartphone use feels so meaningless? We examined this question by using interviews, the experience sampling method, and mobile logging of 86,402 sessions of app use. One motivation for use (habitual use to pass the time) and two types of use (entertainment and passive social media) were associated with a lower sense of meaningfulness. In interviews, participants reported feeling a loss of autonomy when using their phone in these ways. These reports were corroborated by experience sampling data showing that motivation to achieve a specific purpose declined over the course of app use, particularly for passive social media and entertainment usage. In interviews, participants pointed out that even when smartphone use itself was meaningless, it could sometimes still be meaningful in the context of broader life as a 'micro escape' from negative situations. We discuss implications for how mobile apps can be used and designed to reduce meaningless experiences.

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Authors: Lukoff, K., Yu, C., Kientz, J., & Hiniker, A.
Affiliations: University of Washington (US)
Brown University (US)
ORCID: Lukoff, Kai
Kientz, Julie
Hiniker, Alexis
Venue: Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive, Mobile, Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies
Publisher: Association for Computing Machinery (ACM)
Published: 2018-03-26
Volume: 2
Issue: 1
Pages: 1-26
ISSN: 2474-9567 (ISSN-L)
DOI: 10.1145/3191754
OpenAlex: W2794622338
Cited by: 205
References: 76
Citations by year: 2026: 24 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 34 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 26 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 1
FWCI: 30.16
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: www.acm.org/publications/policies/copyright_policy#Background (vor)
Locations: Proceedings of the ACM on Interactive Mobile Wearable and Ubiquitous Technologies (publishedVersion)
Funders: NSF (#IIS-1553167)
Intel Science & Technology Center on Pervasive Computing
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Personal Information Management and User Behavior
Keywords: smartphone use, meaningfulness, habituation, entertainment use, loss of autonomy, mobile application design

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