For years now leadership, management and self-improvement gurus have talked about people needing to establish a better work-life balance. Prepare for a new term to start being tossed about courtesy of Motorola who recently coined “phone-life balance.” The nature of that balance is in a bad place according to a recently completed study commissioned by Motorola who found far too many people are letting their mobile phones become the center of their lives instead of supporting their life activities.
The study was issued by Ipsos at the behest of Motorola and was led by Dr. Nancy Etcoff, an expert in Mind-Brain Behavior and the Science of Happiness at Harvard University and Psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Psychiatry. The study was conducted this past fall and examined phone use habits across generations and how that use affected things like relationships with others. According to Dr. Etcoff,
“For the majority of smartphone users, their problematic behaviors are mindless responses and bad habits that they need help in overcoming. Behavioral nudges, environmental control, and mindfulness will all help, as will the efforts of those within the smartphone industry. The broad social pattern uncovered in this survey of multiple countries highlights the need for collective understanding and action.”
Some of the specific findings were especially troublesome given their prevalence among younger generations. Issues included:
- One-third were more interested in using their smartphone versus engaging with people in real life;
- More than half of Gen Z respondents described their phone as “a best friend”;
- 61% of the people surveyed want help in achieving a better phone-life balance.
Along with these findings, researchers identified some problematic behaviors that result in negative impacts for smartphone users, especially younger generations:
- About half of the respondents think their check their smartphones more often than they would like and nearly that many say they actually feel “compelled” to do so;
- Over one-third say they spend too much time on their smartphones;
- A whopping two-thirds say they “panic” at the thought of losing their smartphone indicating they have become overly attached to their mobile devices.
To try to help address some of these issues, Motorola provides a short 10 question online quiz for users so they can better understand how their smartphone use and attitudes may be impacting their phone-life balance. Motorola is also partnering with the SPACE Phone-Life Balance App which follows a 60-day program to help users become more aware of their phone usage habits and then take steps to make changes. Some other steps Motorola is pursuing include a Transform the Smartphone Challenge for Moto Mod developers to encourage more mindful design ideas, the use of features like Moto Display on Motorola phones to help people stay connected without going down a virtual “rabbit hole”, and prompts for better phone-life balance among Motorola's own workforce.
Do you think your phone-life balance is out of whack?
source: Motorola
