When adults had to either use their phone, sit alone, or have a conversation with a stranger, they generally found talking to someone in person to be more enjoyable.
- In one study, talking with a stranger in person improved participants’ moods.
- Face-to-face conversation with a person had the highest positive emotional value.
- Sitting alone had the highest potential for negative emotions.
How do we experience screen time, social interactions and solitude? This is the question answered by researchers from the University of Georgia (United States) in a study published in the journal The Journal of Social Psychology.
“We thought people would underestimate how much fun they get from talking to a stranger.”
As part of their work, they divided several people into four groups. The team asked them to use their smartphones, sit alone, or talk with a stranger. Some predicted how they would feel about different actions, and others carried out the actions. All participants then ranked the options from most pleasant to least pleasant. To rate feelings related to these tasks, volunteers used a score from 0 to 100 to measure the likelihood of experiencing positive or negative emotion toward an action.
“We thought people would underestimate how much fun they get from talking to a stranger and overestimate how much fun they get from using their smartphone. But that’s not what we found. Overall, “People actually predicted how they would feel more accurately than we expected.” said Christina Leckfor, lead author of the research, in a statement.
More positive emotions after chatting face-to-face with a stranger
According to the results, when adults were able to use their phones freely, they predicted and experienced better mood during a face-to-face conversation, but worse mood when sitting alone. Chatting with a stranger had the highest positive emotional value. Smartphone use came in second, and sitting alone third.
When participants were instructed to do specific tasks on their phones, such as watching videos, scrolling on social media, or sending messages, in addition to talking with a person face to face or sitting alone, they reported that They liked watching videos more, then talking to a stranger, checking social media and finally sending text messages. Sitting alone came in last place.
“These findings suggest that people may use their smartphones because they allow them to escape the unpleasant experience of loneliness, or because they do not recognize or prioritize the benefits of social interaction on moodwe can read in the research conclusions.
