Psychologists smart phones are ruining communication Bashny.Net

The mere presence of a mobile device when a friendly conversation is able to kill all the understanding between the interlocutors.

Mobile phones, smartphones and tablets allow us to access the Internet anytime and anywhere in the civilized world, so that we can always be what is called in the loop. On the other hand, mobile phones, smartphones and other constantly rushing criticism that they kill a live chat that people have forgotten how to talk to each other and that even the most important and the most important point bound to be interrupted a hundred times in order to just search the latest news or new photos of friends in social networks. Progressive mankind usually sees such criticism as an empty lamentations dorky conservatives, but this subject is too curious that she is not interested in psychologists.





And psychologists interested. So, last year in Environment and Behavior published an article in which Andrew Przybylski (Andrew K. Przybylski) and Netta Weinstein (Netta Weinstein) from the University of Essex wrote that the mere presence of a smartphone in communication with an eye for an eye makes the conversation less trusting and generally less important. But these were laboratory experiments, and in this new article published again in Environment and Behavior researchers from the Polytechnic University of Virginia, these data are confirmed in conditions extremely close to real life.

Shalini Misra (Misra Shalini) and her colleagues invited 200 volunteers, put them in pairs and put in a café to talk. Topics of conversation were as important, requiring a high involvement in the conversation, and not very much about which to speak to, not too thinking about what they say. At the same time psychologists were tracking all the non-verbal behavior talking, including what they did with their mobile devices – held in the hand, put on the table, etc.

The conversation lasted 10 minutes, after which participants were asked to rate their recent communication – people had to agree or disagree with statements like "I felt I really could trust his companion," or to answer questions similar to "To what extent your friend was willing to understand your thoughts and feelings?" According to the test results it was possible to determine the strength of interpersonal contact during a conversation.

It turned out that even if the person just put the smartphone next to him on the table and nothing was done, the satisfaction of communication still decreased. Indicators of empathic conversation in the presence of the electronic device is deteriorated, that is worse than people understood and felt the thoughts and emotions of another. (This, of course, the researchers took into account age, gender, ethnicity and mood of the interlocutors.) Curiously, such a deterioration of empathy took place regardless of the subject matter. That is, even if it was about some trifling things, the smartphone is on the table still did the conversation unsatisfactory. In addition, the mobile device is stronger spoil the communication if the interlocutors were familiar with each other. Briefly about the results of the work writes in Pacific Standard.

It is clear why: mobile devices are distracting us from the conversation, so even if we have to discuss, we don't manage our expectations remain unfulfilled, including emotionally. And, as it turned out, we can escape, not even taking into the hands of the smartphone – one of its kind enough, so we thought that somewhere something is happening, and we about it do not know. If we, in addition, yet close and familiar with someone, the frustration from the conversation with a smartphone will be more, because we expect from conversation with a friend more understanding and other emotional bonuses, but "for some reason" don't get it.

Of course, it could be argued that emotional cons in live communication kompensiruet emotional benefits of looking at the numbers next to the "likes." However, at least, about the fact that mobile devices are harmful to living fellowship, doubts must vanish – all the doubters can be sent to the research findings.

Source: nkj.ru