Cited by 162Child Development and Digital TechnologyImpact of Technology on AdolescentsFamily Dynamics and Relationships

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Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children

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Kushlev, Kostadin, Dunn, Elizabeth W.·2019·Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

DOI 10.1177/0265407518769387

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Abstract

In the U.S., 95% of smartphone users admit to having used their smartphones during their latest social gathering. Although smartphones are designed to connect us with others, such smartphone use may create a source of distraction that disconnects us from the people in our immediate social environment. Focusing on one fundamental social relationship—between parents and their children—we examined whether smartphones made parents feel distracted, thereby undermining key benefits parents reap when spending time with their children. Ina field experiment at a science museum (Study 1), we randomly assigned parents to use their phones frequently or infrequently. Frequent phone use led parents to feel more distracted, which in turn impaired feelings of social connection and the meaning that parents derived when spending time with their children. In an additional weeklong diary study (Study 2), we found further evidence that smartphones can distract parents from reaping a sense of social connection when spending time with their children. These studies suggest that being constantly connected to the Internet may carry subtle costs for the fabric of social life.

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Authors: Kushlev, K., & Dunn, E. W.
Affiliations: University of Virginia (US)
University of British Columbia (CA)
Corresponding author: Kushlev, Kostadin
ORCID: Kushlev, Kostadin
Dunn, Elizabeth W.
Venue: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2018-04-10
Volume: 36
Issue: 6
Pages: 1619-1639
ISSN: 0265-4075 (ISSN-L)
1460-3608
DOI: 10.1177/0265407518769387
OpenAlex: W2796972396
Cited by: 162
References: 44
Citations by year: 2026: 11 · 2025: 24 · 2024: 29 · 2023: 20 · 2022: 19 · 2021: 21 · 2020: 24 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 2
FWCI: 47.83
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: hybrid
doi.org
Licence: cc-by
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Journal of Social and Personal Relationships (publishedVersion, cc-by)
Funders: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (H08–02739)
Topics: Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords: smartphone use, parental distraction, parent-child relationship, social connectedness, face-to-face interaction, social media use, science museums

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Smartphones distract parents from cultivating feelings of connection when spending time with their children

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