For many, it’s not just a phone, but rather a pocket computer with immense possibilities. It’s this fascinating potential that drives us to check it almost every five minutes, often driven by habit or incessant notifications.
However, these repeated interactions disrupt your concentration and hamper your productivity.
So, could keeping your smartphone at a distance help you concentrate better at the office? That’s what Maxi Heitmayer, a researcher at the London School of Economics, wanted to find out.
For two days, he conducted an experiment in a controlled professional environment with 22 volunteers.
The results? Even when the phone was placed 1.5 metres away, it didn’t make the participants any more concentrated or productive.
Deprived of their precious smartphones, they simply transferred their distractions to their laptop, maintaining a similar level of interruptions.
The paradox lies in the way our smartphone has become, for many of us, a veritable extension of ourselves. The phone itself is not to blame.
“The smartphone itself is not the problem. It’s what we do with it and, frankly, the apps that generate and reinforce these habits,” explains Maxi Heitmayer in a news release.
Regaining control of your attention
So much so that suddenly finding yourself deprived of your smartphone can generate real anxiety, and a feeling of profound abandonment.
Nomophobia, or the fear of being separated from your mobile phone, is now a tangible reality for some users, to the point where actual detox centres have opened their doors, notably in China and Japan.
So why do people allow their smartphones to take up so much space in their lives? Quite simply because they make their lives easier at every turn.
A veritable digital Swiss army knife, a person’s phone houses everything they need – and more.
It connects them to their loved ones, guides them with its GPS, wakes them up in the morning, plays their favourite music and entertains them at all times.
It’s impossible to get bored with this pocket companion, always ready to fill even the smallest moment of downtime.
“Whenever there is a small break, people check their phone,” notes Maxi Heitmayer. Conversely, the computer, less intuitive and practical, is much less naturally attractive.
To really regain control over these ubiquitous little devices, the specialist suggests a far more effective solution than simply putting their phones out of reach.
Instead, he recommended a complete overhaul of the way they manage notifications.
Scheduling specific times during the day to consult these alerts, or even temporarily disabling them, could enable people to gradually regain control of their attention – an ambitious but essential challenge.
Because behind this growing difficulty in resisting distractions lies a disturbing truth. The most captivating applications are specifically designed to monopolise a person’s time, to the benefit of the big tech companies.
Maxi Heitmayer therefore calls for greater collective awareness, and for greater protection for users, especially younger users, in the face of these formidable marketing strategies.
The real challenge, then, is not so much to take their smartphone away as to relearn how to effectively manage their attention in the face of a tool designed to capture it.
At work, as elsewhere, regaining control of notifications and digital distractions is becoming an essential skill, on a par with mastering artificial intelligence or time management.
Indeed, maybe knowing how to resist the constant pull of their smartphones could be the standout skill for tomorrow’s professionals…