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Digital Overload Warnings - “The Right Amount of Shame”?

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Human-Computer Interaction. Human Values and Quality of Life (HCII 2020)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12183))

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Abstract

Media is rife with articles regarding smartphone addiction and how digital overload may be harming the mental well-being of children and young adults. As a response to the negative backlash about digital overload, Apple and Google released ScreenTime and Digital Wellbeing on iOS and Android devices to help users make informed decisions about their smartphone app usage. However, we expect that reminding users about their digital overload may have a negative effect, especially in undergraduate students, who are avid users of smartphones, and maybe also struggling with mental health issues. We conducted a survey among 230 undergraduate students to understand whether they use the ScreenTime feature on their iOS devices to manage app usage and if so, how the tool affected their emotions. We discovered that ScreenTime was effective in changing smartphone usage behavior, but also triggered negative emotions in undergraduate students who are avid smartphone users and also struggle with mental health issues. We expect the tools can be improved by changing the way users are warned about increased phone usage, by incorporating positive mindfulness techniques. We also emphasize the need to have more studies, like ours, to understand the effectiveness of digital overload reminder tools.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY, USA

    Aarathi Prasad & Asia Quinones

Authors
  1. Aarathi Prasad
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  2. Asia Quinones
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Aarathi Prasad .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The Open University of Japan, Chiba, Japan

    Masaaki Kurosu

Survey Questionnaire

Survey Questionnaire

  1. 1.

    Do you use an iPhone every day?

    1. (a)

      Yes

    2. (b)

      No

  2. 2.

    Are you familiar with the ScreenTime functionality on your phone?

    1. (a)

      Yes, I want to continue with the survey.

    2. (b)

      No. I wish to quit the survey.

  3. 3.

    Have you set any time limits for apps using ScreenTime?

    1. (a)

      Yes

    2. (b)

      No

    3. (c)

      I do not wish to answer

  4. 4.

    Choose the time limits (in hours) that you set in ScreenTime. Go to Settings\({-}{>}\)ScreenTime\({-}{>}\)App Limits on your phone to view the time limits you have set.

  5. 5.

    Choose from below, the emotions you feel when you use an app for which you set a time limit

    1. (a)

      Happy

    2. (b)

      Confident

    3. (c)

      Content

    4. (d)

      Satisfied

    5. (e)

      Glad

    6. (f)

      Relieved

    7. (g)

      Relaxed

    8. (h)

      Bored

    9. (i)

      Timid

    10. (j)

      Confused

    11. (k)

      Insecure

    12. (l)

      Anxious

    13. (m)

      Worried

    14. (n)

      Scared

    15. (o)

      Sadness

    16. (p)

      Ashamed

    17. (q)

      Stressed

    18. (r)

      Resentful

    19. (s)

      Jealous

    20. (t)

      Unsatisfied

    21. (u)

      Overwhelmed

    22. (v)

      Angry

    23. (w)

      I do not wish to answer

  6. 6.

    In one or two sentences, explain why you selected the emotions in the previous question?

  7. 7.

    Choose from below, the emotions you feel when your phone warns you that your time is up? [Same list as 5]

  8. 8.

    In one or two sentences, explain why you selected the emotions in the previous question?

  9. 9.

    Typically, when the time is up, how often do you go back to the app using the snooze option?

    1. (a)

      Rarely go back to app

    2. (b)

      Sometimes go back to the app

    3. (c)

      Often go back to app

    4. (d)

      Always go back to app

    5. (e)

      I do not wish to answer

  10. 10.

    Choose from below, the emotions you feel when you look at your summary for today [Same list as 5].

  11. 11.

    In one or two sentences, explain why you selected the emotions in the previous question?

  12. 12.

    Have you changed your behavior since you started using ScreenTime?

    1. (a)

      Yes

    2. (b)

      No

    3. (c)

      I do not wish to answer

  13. 13.

    In a few words, explain how your behavior has changed?

  14. 14.

    What additional information do you want about your app usage?

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Prasad, A., Quinones, A. (2020). Digital Overload Warnings - “The Right Amount of Shame”?. In: Kurosu, M. (eds) Human-Computer Interaction. Human Values and Quality of Life. HCII 2020. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12183. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49065-2_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49065-2_9

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-49064-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-49065-2

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