I Wish I Had: Desired Real-World Activities Instead of Regretful Smartphone Use

Abstract

For most people, smartphones have become daily companions, offering ubiquitous information access and social communication. The majority of smartphone users sometimes feel distracted by their mobile devices and have experienced regretful smartphone use. The downsides of smartphone use have been widely explored by the literature. What is missing, however, is a suggestion of alternative activities users would like to perform instead of using their smartphone. We therefore conducted an online survey with N = 67 participants exploring users preferred activities alternative to regretful smartphone use for different time-frames. Our results show that usage sessions shorter than ten minutes are less prone to inducing a feeling of regret. Users’ concrete suggestions range from relaxation and self-care activities (10 to 20 minutes) to social and outdoor activities (more than 20 minutes) with a trend towards leisure activities rather than work-related ones. We finally provide impulses how to promote these activities through technology.