Summary: A recent study finds that simply placing your smartphone out of arm’s reach does not meaningfully reduce distraction or increase productivity. Although participants used their phones less when they were positioned farther away, they compensated by shifting attention to other devices—most often their laptops. The research suggests the issue lies less with the device itself and more with the habits and app-driven routines that steer our attention.
Smartphones remain the primary source of distraction because they combine many functions into a portable, tactile device. Even with reduced accessibility, people tend to turn to any available device offering entertainment or social connection. The study recommends moving the conversation away from blaming devices and toward understanding user behavior and app design.
Key points
- Proximity alone isn’t enough: Placing a phone farther away lowered direct phone use but didn’t eliminate interruptions.
- Habits determine distraction: When phones were less accessible, participants moved their non-work activities to laptops rather than focusing more on tasks.
- Phones remain preferred: Due to convenience, portability and versatility, smartphones are still the go-to tool for off-task browsing and socializing.
Source: Frontiers
If you put your phone away to read this, you’re not alone.
People interact with their smartphones frequently—often every few minutes—driven by ingrained habits and incoming notifications. These interruptions fragment work and make it difficult to maintain sustained focus.
The study, published in Frontiers in Computer Science, explored whether positioning a smartphone just out of reach during work hours affects the use of devices for non-work activities.
“The study shows that putting the smartphone away may not be sufficient to reduce disruption and procrastination, or increase focus,” said Dr Maxi Heitmayer of the London School of Economics. “The problem is not rooted within the device itself, but in the habits and routines that we have developed with our devices.”
Device versus distance
Twenty-two participants completed two work sessions in a private, soundproof room, bringing the devices they normally use for work—at minimum a laptop and a smartphone. Notification settings were not altered, and researchers did not control incoming alerts.
Two experimental conditions differed only by how close the phone was: in one, the phone sat on the participant’s desk; in the other, it rested on a separate desk 1.5 meters away. When phones were less accessible, participants used them less—but they did not become less distracted overall. Instead, many transferred non-work behavior to their computers. Time spent on work and leisure activities did not significantly change across conditions.
Heitmayer noted why phones remain attractive distractions: “It’s your connection with loved ones and with work. It’s your navigation system, alarm clock, music player, and source of information. Unsurprisingly, people turn to the tool that does everything.” Even without a clear purpose, people reach for their phones because they know social apps and entertainment are readily available. Computers can offer the same services but are less tactile and less convenient to handle.
“In my research I want to shift the discourse beyond device-centric debates,” Heitmayer added. “The smartphone itself is not the problem. It’s what we do with it and, frankly, the apps that generate and reinforce these habits.”
Designed to capture attention
Practical steps like batching notifications or silencing alerts at certain times can help reduce interruptions and promote mindful device use. However, Heitmayer warned that such measures only go so far: brief breaks often prompt people to check whatever device is nearby, and social media platforms are especially powerful attention drivers.
“There is a very unequal battle fought out every single day by each and every one of us when we use our phones,” Heitmayer said. “The things inside phones that are the biggest attention sinks are developed by large corporations who greatly profit from our failure to resist the temptation to use them; all of this is literally by design.”
Heitmayer emphasized protecting users—particularly young people—moving forward. While smartphones can support learning and creativity, they also carry costs that many adults find difficult to manage, so the trade-offs cannot be ignored.
About this psychology and digital distraction research news
Author: Deborah Pirchner
Source: Frontiers
Contact: Deborah Pirchner – Frontiers
Image: Image credit: Neuroscience News
Original research (open access):
“When the Phone’s Away, People Use Their Computer to Play: Distance to the Smartphone Reduces Device Usage but not Overall Distraction and Task Fragmentation during Work” by Maxi Heitmayer et al., Frontiers in Computer Science.
Abstract
When the Phone’s Away, People Use Their Computer to Play — Distance to the Smartphone Reduces Device Usage but not Overall Distraction and Task Fragmentation during Work
Smartphones help workers juggle professional and personal demands but can also interrupt focus, affecting productivity, wellbeing and work–life balance. Drawing on how physical environments affect engagement with objects, this study tested whether the distance between a user and their smartphone changes how people interact with devices during work.
Twenty-two participants each completed two five-hour sessions of knowledge work on a computer; during one session the smartphone was placed beyond immediate reach. Results indicate that while limited phone accessibility reduced direct phone use, participants moved non-work activities to their computers and overall time spent on work versus leisure did not change. These findings suggest research and debate about smartphone disruptiveness should consider the range of activities users perform and the broader habits that drive attention, rather than focusing solely on device presence.