Smartphone and Flow

Smartphones tend to interfere with their users’ daily tasks and cause distraction. Therefore, many consider these digital devices a real threat to individuals’ ability to pay attention, accomplish tasks, and thus their well-being. A specific positive experience necessary for human well-being is flow or deep concentration. Flow is one of the key indicators of focused attention and, therefore, might be highly affected by digital distractions. In this study, using an experience sampling method, we examined the potential effects of smartphones on flow state during daily tasks that require focused attention through the mediation role of distraction. 181 university students received a web-based questionnaire five times a day for a week, including the 9-item Short Flow Scale, one question for distraction check, and a list of daily activities categorized into attention-demanding tasks and smartphone-related activities. The results of multilevel modeling method and Indirect MLM mediation analysis showed that although engaging in smartphone-related activities were associated with distraction (b=.35, 95% CI: [.21, .47]) smartphone-related use did not affect flow score (b_Indirect= -.03, 95%CI: [-.09, .04]). Noteworthily, this effect was statistically significant for the potential effect of smartphone checking on flow experience (b_Indirect=-.15, 95% CI: [-.23, -.07]). In conclusion, this study suggested that the effect of smartphone use on flow state is considerably varied between people