Paderborn in the New York Times
Pocket-sized all-rounders: the smartphone has become an elementary part of our everyday lives - with considerable consequences for our mental performance. Because: mobile phones are distracting. Even when it is switched off on the table. Jeanette Skowronek, Andreas Seifert and Professor Dr Sven Lindberg from Paderborn University discovered this a few years ago. Their highly acclaimed study, which was published in the Nature journal "Scientific Reports", is still making waves today.
On 27 March, for example, the New York Times (NYT) published a guest article by Georgetown professor and bestselling author Cal Newport. The article appeared both online as a "Guest Essay" in the "Opinion Section" and in the printed "Sunday Review" - the most widely read edition of the NYT. In it, Newport argues in favour of a social turnaround in dealing with digital distraction and makes reference to the Paderborn study. Professor Lindberg, Head of Clinical Developmental Psychology at Paderborn University, also confirms that this is necessary: "Attention does not develop on its own - it is an active process that we need to protect. Our study shows that the mere presence of a smartphone undermines this protection. What is needed is a cultural change in the way we deal with digital distraction."
So far, there have only been a few studies that look at smartphones that are switched off. "That's why our work makes an important contribution to existing research," says Professor Lindberg. In a controlled experiment, the team conducted concentration and attention tests with participants aged between 20 and 34. The result: the test subjects without smartphones showed significantly higher attention performance.
According to Professor Lindberg, a simple trick pays off: "Leave the mobile phone in another room when it comes to tasks that require a high level of concentration. This alone already reduces negative effects on attention and cognitive performance. Unfortunately, just covering the screen or switching off the mobile phone is not enough," emphasises the expert.
The study can be viewed here.
This text was translated automatically.
