(PS12-73) How Matters More Than How Much: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Goals-and-values-based Smartphone Use Management for Anxiety

Research has extensively studied the negative effects of problematic smartphone use on anxiety (Vahedi & Saiphoo, 2018). Many have proposed ways to improve mental health by reducing smartphone use time (Brailovskaia et al., 2023). However, time spent using smartphones may not be as relevant as the nature of that use or the context in which use occurs. Smartphone users classify smartphone use as healthy or problematic depending on 1) whether they are using their phone for a primary, prioritized purpose and 2) whether the phone use is experienced as intentional (Prasad, LaFreniere, Taneja, & Beals, 2021). Users also often experience negative emotions when attempting to restrict tphone use time and little positive reinforcement for successful restriction (Prasad & Quinones, 2020). These sequelae may limit sustained change and exacerbate anxiety. Furthermore, Harwood et al. (2014) found that smartphone use classified as “problematic” was not determined by the extent of use, but by the nature and context of use—what people were specifically doing on their phones during a particular situation. These findings suggest smartphone use problems depend on users’ individual goals for how they use their phones, rather than total time of use. Even so, digital interventions for problematic smartphone use almost exclusively focus on restricting use time (e.g., Okeke, 2018; Kim, 2019).

This randomized controlled trial tested a mindful, goals-driven approach for managing smartphone use. 61 community participants were randomized to either seven days of 1) a novel EMI where users were guided to mindfully use their phones in ways aligned with their goals for use and personal values (Goals-and-Values-Based [GaV]; no explicit restriction) or 2) a traditional EMI where users were aided in simply restricting overall phone time (Time Restriction). The GaV-Based EMI prompted users four times per day to consider their personal values and their related goals for their smartphone use, including a GaV-based written reflection on their use before bed. The Time-Restriction EMI mirrored the four GaV-Based prompts and written reflection, but solely encouraged users to monitor and attempt to lessen their amount of use. All participants took the Depression-Anxiety-Stress Scale 21, the Problematic Use of Mobile Phones scale, and the Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale at baseline and at 8^th day post-trial. Longitudinal linear mixed modeling with simple slopes analyses examined change between and within conditions.

Results supported our hypotheses. Goals-and-Values-Based use was not only superior to Time Restriction in reducing anxiety and problematic smartphone use, but actually also led to less overall time on phones than intentional restriction did. GaV users had significant decreases in anxiety (t(58) = -2.51, p = .015, d = -0.66), problematic smartphone use (t(58) = -2.96, p = .005, d = -0.78), and overall time using smartphones (t(58) = -2.29, p = .026, d = -0.60), whereas Time Restriction users did not. The EMIs did not differ in their reduction of depression or general stress. Interventions for problematic smartphone use may best benefit users by encouraging mindful, goals-driven use, rather than simply facilitating restriction of use amount.