Our modern relationship with smartphones is always within arm’s reach and frequently demands our attention.
It’s incredible how they’ve become indispensable tools and relentless sources of distraction. This constant switching between work and phone doesn’t just waste time; it also impacts our productivity. It takes our brains a while to regain focus after interruptions.
A new study finds that simply putting your phone away while working might not improve focus or reduce procrastination. The issue lies not in the device but in our habits and routines built around using it. It’s more about breaking those patterns than just removing the device.
The study involved 22 participants, who were asked to do two 5-hour knowledge work sessions on the computer, with the smartphone placed outside their immediate reach during one session.
The study investigated two scenarios based on the distance between participants and their smartphones. In one setup, phones were placed directly on participants’ desks. In the other, the phones were moved to a separate desk 1.5 meters away.
The study reveals that while restricting smartphone access reduces phone usage, participants redirected their non-work activities to computers. Ultimately, the overall time spent on work and leisure activities remained constant. This suggests that the core issue lies in managing our habits and distractions rather than the accessibility of specific devices.
The author, Dr Maxi Heitmayer, a London School of Economics researcher, said, “The results showed that phones were the preferred device for distraction. 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 if you have no clear purpose, you know it has your socials and can provide entertainment. While computers can fulfill the same functions, using one is less haptically pleasant and is not as handy and portable.”
Apps and notifications are designed to keep us hooked by rewarding us unpredictably—for example, by anticipating likes on a post or unexpected messages.
“In my research, I want to shift the discourse beyond device-centric debates. The smartphone itself is not the problem. It’s what we do with it and, frankly, the apps that generate and reinforce these habits.”
Journal Reference
Heitmayer, M. (2025). 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. Frontiers in Computer Science, 7, 1422244. DOI: 10.3389/fcomp.2025.1422244