Questions for Grant Blank on his 5/9 talk about how "Smartphone dependencies shape internet use and outcomes"

[jamesallenevans]

Pose your questions here for Grant Blank regarding is 5/9 talk Smartphone dependencies shape internet use and outcomes. The distinct characteristic of smartphones is their flexible ability to be personalized to their owners’ needs, goals and lifestyles. How they are personalized can lead different people to depend on them to attain very different goals. Drawing on media system dependency theory I describe three routine uses of smartphones: orientation, play, and escape dependency. These dependencies are associated with different subpopulations and they are major contributors to the amount and variety of internet use. All three also shape internet outcomes but in different ways: orientation dependency has a positive influence on the benefits of use, while play and escape dependencies have a negative influence. The results show that the ways in which people incorporate smartphones into their lives have a strong impact on how they use the internet and what benefits they enjoy. The implications for a future theory of smartphone use are explored. The following readings support the presentation: echo chamber is overstated.pdf; smartphone dependencies.pdf

[CanaanCui]

Thanks for sharing these insights! Given the roles of orientation, play, and escape in smartphone use, how might advancements in AI and machine learning alter these dependencies and affect internet use outcomes?

[QIXIN-ACT]

Thanks for sharing! Given the strong impact of smartphone dependency types on internet use and outcomes, what are the theoretical or practical implications for designing future smartphones, apps, or digital well-being interventions? Also, what are the next steps in your research on smartphone dependencies? Are there any plans to explore how these dependencies might evolve with advancements in technology or changes in social norms?

[zcyou018]

Thank you for sharing! I would like to know do the different forms of smartphone dependency (orientation, play, and escape) influence the social and psychological well-being of individuals in different demographic groups?

[AnniiiinnA]

Given the study challenges common perceptions about the prevalence and impact of echo chambers in a high-choice media environment, how might the findings influence the design of future social media platforms? Moreover, could the approach to measuring echo chamber effects using multiple media and diverse metrics be applied to other areas of media research to provide more nuanced insights into user behavior and media consumption patterns?

[jiayan-li]

Hi Prof. Blank, I really like your way of theorizing the use of mobile devices and can personally relate to the different kinds of dependencies. This seems like a fascinating area. I'm wondering what other avenues there are to study people's mobile use except for surveys. Could you give a little overview of the field?

[kiddosso]

Thanks for your sharing Professor Blank! I wonder if the three types of dependencies are mutually exclusive or they're connected with each other. Is there any deeper consideration when you try to formulate dependencies as such?

[XiaotongCui]

Thanks for sharing! In the discussion, you mentioned that smartphone dependency is related to individuals' socio-demographic characteristics. Could you further elaborate on the implications of this relationship for designing more effective digital inclusion policies and interventions?

[saniazeb8]

Hi,

Thank you for sharing quite interesting work. I would like to know more about the socioeconomic impact of increasing smartphone use in the rural areas of developing regions which are not compatible with infrastructure advancement and might lead to negative social influence and lagging economic efficiency.

[Dededon]

Hi Dr. Black, thank you for the sharing! I really love your echo chamber paper in the sense to assess the echo chamber effects comprehensively. I'm curious about your opinion of the screen-tracking experiments. Such experiments are hard to implement and recruit, because of ethical issues. What do you think might be a good alternative design to this sort of experiment?

[ChrisZhang6888]

Hi Dr. Black, thank you so much for sharing your works! As the development of technology, smart phone has already became an inseparable part of our lives. With that in mind, I am wondering how do the emotional and psychological impacts of smartphone dependencies, such as play and escape dependencies, contribute to long-term mental health outcomes?

[h-karyn]

Considering the study's UK context, how might these findings translate to countries with different media landscapes, particularly where media control is more centralized or heavily biased? It's essential to explore whether the mitigating effect of political interest and media diversity on echo chambers holds in environments with less freedom of the press and higher governmental control over media.

[Daniela-miaut]

Thanks for sharing! I'm curious that, in your opinion, is it possible to introduce critical theory into the study of internet, especially on their impact on human society, and on the ethical part? If possible, how would you implement it and what's your suggestion for young researchers?

[JerryCG]

Dear Grant,

It is interesting to think about functionality of smartphones in 3 aspects, orientation, play and escape, which makes great sense to me. It is also striking to see that only orientation usage can improve benefits. I wonder why play and escape functions do not improve benefits but people are still very passionate about these aspects of smartphone usage?

Best,
Jerry Cheng (chengguo)

[bhavyapan]

Thanks for sharing your work! Given that orientation dependency has a positive influence on the benefits of use, while play and escape dependencies have a negative influence, I'm wondering about the way that these dependencies can influence labor productivity and economic behavior -- two mechanisms I could think of, for instance were: they might lead to increased economic activity through enhanced connectivity and information access, or they could potentially decrease productivity due to distraction and time wastage. What are your thoughts on this?

[Zihannah11]

Thank you for sharing. The study found that both media diversity and political interest were associated with a lower likelihood of being in an echo chamber, even for those on the far ends of the political spectrum. However, do you think there could be a point at which extreme political views lead people to restrict their media exposure, even if they are highly engaged in politics? Or are there examples of people who hold strong ideological positions but still make an effort to consume diverse perspectives?

[iefis]

Thanks for sharing the research! I am wondering, in your opinion, how the content-feeding algorithm of social media platforms might mediate the observed effect of orientation dependency in smartphone use.

[ethanjkoz]

The paper providing a counterfactual to the dominant social media echochamber effect was a very interesting read. Particularly, I thought the criticism of narrow definitions/measurements of total media consumption was poignant; people realistically use multiple sources of media to inform themselves about topics in these high-choice environments. I found the analysis quite powerful but was wondering if there were any considerations paid to interaction effects between some of these variables. For example, age, to me, sounds like it could very plausibly have some interactive effect on media diversity and particularly political participation, given that it seems younger generations participate in politics at a much lower percentage than older folks.

[secorey]

Hi Dr. Blank,
Thank you for coming to present your work with us. I had a question regarding RQ3 in the "smartphone dependencies" paper you shared. It seems to me that the amount and variety of smartphone use would be correlated based on how these two variables are being measured. Furthermore, the resulting regressions show almost the same significant predictor variables. Thus, I think it's difficult to parse the differences between these two variables. Do you find this to be an issue, and did you consider controlling for amount in your measure of variety or vice versa?

[kunkunz111]

Thank you for sharing this insightful work. I would love to understand more about the cultural implications of rapid digitalization in communities with traditionally low internet penetration. How does this shift impact social cohesion, especially in contexts where digital literacy rates vary widely, potentially leading to increased social fragmentation or altered cultural norms?

[Marugannwg]

I really enjoy the insight from those social psychology studies. Regrading the negative influence of "play" and "escape" usage of internet, I think this sentence really hit to point --

"a digital division in which socially excluded individuals tend to domesticate internet technologies in ways that do not improve their ability to find a job or save money ..... personally gratifying but does not link them to the larger society"

--- This sound to like a positive reinforcement situation to me: the more excluded, the more you tend to engage in technology in an excluded way. From my perspecteive, improve social capability (i.e., the job finding and money saving mentioned here) is exactly something opposed to one's motivation if they are feeling detached from the society in the first place... Today, with the more entertainments format and customized AI avaliable, I wonder if this would become a larger issue, forming more esoteric yet detached online communities and polarized the situation. (Is this opposite to what it is found in the other paper: echo chamber doesn't exist?)

[shaangao]

Thank you so much for sharing your research! I wonder if you could give a bit more theoretical motivations behind classifying smartphone use into the three categories proposed in your research (orientation, play, and escape) -- are these three categories mutually exclusive and exhaustive? Is this categorization more data-driven or theory-driven?

[MaxwelllzZ]

Thank you for sharing. Could you elaborate on the specific methods and data you used to identify and categorize the three distinct smartphone dependencies—orientation, play, and escape—in your study? Additionally, how do these dependencies manifest differently across various subpopulations, such as age groups or socioeconomic statuses, and what implications might these patterns have for shaping future internet usage and the development of digital media strategies?

[ymuhannah]

Thanks for sharing! In your analysis of smartphone dependencies, you categorized dependencies as orientation, play, and escape. Could there be other significant categories, such as productivity or social connectivity, that could also be considered in future studies?

[Hai1218]

Hi Professor Blank,

Your study provides an interesting view of the echo chamber effect in high-choice media environments. Could you elaborate on how your findings might influence future research directions in media studies and political communication, especially concerning the methodologies used to study media consumption patterns and their impact on political polarization?

[Weiranz926]

Thank you for your sharing! My question is: Considering the distinct dependencies and subpopulations identified in your study, how might socioeconomic factors influence smartphone dependency patterns? Additionally, do you foresee any public policy interventions that could mitigate the negative impacts of play and escape dependencies on diverse populations?

[Zhuojun1]

How do you think the emergence of new technologies like AI-driven personal assistants and augmented reality interfaces on smartphones might alter the existing patterns of dependency you identified? Specifically, could they potentially change the balance between orientation, play, and escape dependencies, and if so, how might this affect internet outcomes and user benefits?

[fabrice401]

Interesting works! Despite the common fear that people only consume media that reinforces their existing beliefs, leading to polarization, your research suggests otherwise. Then I am wondering how can digital platforms and social media companies use the findings of this study to design algorithms or features that discourage the formation of echo chambers and encourage exposure to diverse viewpoints?

[ecg1331]

Thank you so much for sharing your research!
It was interesting to read how your research supported a lack of echo chambers, which is not what we hear very often.

I just have a clarification question, I understand that those who are more politically interested seek out other information so they are not in an echo chamber, but is just having a diverse range of media enough to take those who are politically interested 'out' of the echo chambers? Would the algorithms not be similar in each media source?

Thank you!

[wenyizhaomacss]

Dr. Blank, thank you for this insightful study on smartphone dependencies and digital inequality. I'm curious about the potential to combine survey data like you used with digital trace data from smartphones to further unpack these dependency relationships. What opportunities and challenges do you see in leveraging mobile phone logs, app usage data, or other digital breadcrumbs to validate and extend your findings around orientation, play and escape dependencies?

[ksheng-UChicago]

Thanks for sharing. I find the analysis of the three routine uses of smartphones to be very helpful in understanding person-mobile device interaction. I have a question about spatial data collection using smartphones. One significant change shifting from PCs to smartphones is mobility. Powered by GPS, spatial data is booming with the use of smartphones. Have you seen any difference in the meaning of spatial data collection within your three routine use frameworks?

[Vindmn1234]

Thank you for your insightful presentation. You propose that concerns about echo chambers may be overstated in high-choice media environments. You also note that individuals who engage with diverse media sources and have a high interest in politics are less likely to be confined within echo chambers. Could you elaborate on how media diversity and political interest interact to mitigate the risks of echo chambers? Additionally, are there specific types of media that are more effective in exposing individuals to a broader range of viewpoints and discussions?

[C-y22]

Thank you for sharing! The paper "The echo chamber is overstated: the moderating effect of political interest and diverse media" offers a comprehensive analysis challenging the prevalent notion of echo chambers in digital media environments. My question is: What are the key factors contributing to individuals avoiding echo chambers in a high-choice media environment?

[Kevin2330]

Thank you so much for sharing! In considering the future landscape of smartphone use, it's crucial to acknowledge the potential uncertainties that lie ahead. My question is: What are the key implications of your findings for the development of a future theory of smartphone use, and what areas of research do you believe warrant further exploration?

[oliang2000]

Thank you for sharing your research! As mentioned in the "Smartphones in Everyday Life" paper, people have different routine uses of smartphones that lead to different types of dependencies. I'm wondering, if that is the case, why do you think everyone depends on the smartphone rather than some more specialized devices?

[jinyz1220]

Thank you for your speech! My question is: In what ways can smartphone dependency escalate to addiction, and how does smartphone addiction differ from other types of addiction?

[yunshu3112]

Hi Dr. Blank, thank you for sharing your work! In your paper on smartphone dependency, I was inspired by your categorizations. I was wondering if you believe the spread of short videos across social media changes how people receive information and thus decrease the orientation dependency?

[natashacarpcast]

Thanks for this research! I think the topic of smartphone dependencies is incredibly vast and interesting. I'm wondering, do you believe these dependencies can change some of our cognitive abilities? For example, if maybe having access to look up information so fast, can in some way make people less patient?

[bairr1208]

Hi, Prof, thank you for you sharing. But I am wondering how did you employ specific methods and data to identify and categorize the three distinct smartphone dependencies—orientation, play, and escape—in your study, and how do these dependencies manifest across different subpopulations, such as age groups or socioeconomic statuses? Additionally, given your findings that challenge the common belief of media consumption reinforcing existing beliefs and leading to polarization, how can digital platforms and social media companies utilize these insights to design features or algorithms that prevent the formation of echo chambers and promote exposure to diverse viewpoints?

[nalinbhatt]

I was curious about the design of the survey questions, in "The echo chamber is overstated: the moderating effect of political interest and diverse media". One of the issues I thought with the question design was that, it is possible for agents to clarify their beliefs about different issues, however, if they tune into a particular subset of media instead of engaging with a diverse one that challenges their opinions, they still might find themselves within echo chambers. I am curious if including sources of media consulted as a sub question might help. Because, then we can incorporate the inter-relationship between sources and the closeness or distance between them to judge how much individuals challenge their opinions to ensure they have accurate ones.

[ZenthiaSong]

Hello, thank you for sharing! Could you recommend additional resources or authors who have influenced your understanding and approach to studying smartphone use and internet outcomes? How do the provided readings support your presentation?

[yiang-li]

thanks for sharing. Could you further elaborate on how you define and distinguish between orientation, play, and escape dependencies in the context of smartphone use? What are the specific behaviors or patterns that characterize each dependency?

[DonnieTang1]

Thank you so much for sharing your works! Your talk highlights how smartphone personalization leads to varied dependencies—orientation, play, and escape—that influence internet usage and outcomes differently. Could you elaborate on how these dependencies interact with socio-economic or demographic factors?

[boki2924]

Thank you for sharing! How do the different types of smartphone dependencies—orientation, play, and escape—impact internet use and outcomes differently, and what implications do these findings have for developing a future theory of smartphone use?

[hantaoxiao]

1. AI and Dependency: With the rapid advancements in AI and machine learning, how do you foresee these technologies influencing the three types of smartphone dependencies (orientation, play, and escape)? Could AI-driven personalization amplify or mitigate these dependencies?
2. Cultural Impact: How might the cultural context of smartphone users influence the prevalence and nature of orientation, play, and escape dependencies? Are there cultural factors that significantly alter how these dependencies manifest?
3. Digital Well-being: What are the potential implications of your findings for the development of digital well-being interventions? How can designers create smartphone features that promote healthier usage patterns?

[Adrianne-Li]

Dear Grant, I found your analysis of smartphone functionality through the lenses of orientation, play, and escape to be particularly insightful. It's intriguing that only the orientation aspect seems to improve benefits. I'm curious about why the play and escape functions do not enhance benefits in a similar manner, yet they still captivate so many users. What do you think drives this strong attraction? --Adrianne(zhuyin) Li

[66Alexa]

Thanks for your sharing! My questions is: What are some of the key factors that lead individuals to develop different types of dependencies on their smartphones?

[schen115]

Thanks for your sharing! In your research of "smartphone dependencies", you highlights the different dependencies people develop with their smartphones—orientation, play, and escape—and their varying impacts on internet use and outcomes. I was curious that what specific strategies or design changes can smartphone developers implement to encourage more orientation-based use? Additionally, how can users be guided to recognize and shift their usage patterns towards more beneficial behaviors?

[Yuxin-Ji]

Thank you for sharing! The research on echo chamber found that people are under a high-choice context with more diverse media exposure. I wonder what is the proportion of the diverse or opposite information exposed to individuals - if the diverse perspectives is only a small proportion of what a person see, then it creates the illusion that their believes are the majority and could in a way reinforce partisan. In such case, the quantity of the diverse perspectives is not the only metric, rather the proportion of diverse perspectives becomes more important.

[vigiwang]

Thanks so much for sharing! May I ask a question that How do the effects of media diversity and political interest on echo chamber formation vary across different demographic groups, such as age, socioeconomic status, and educational background, in different cultural and political contexts?

[jialeCharloote]

Can you discuss any challenges or limitations you faced in your study, particularly in identifying and measuring smartphone dependencies and their effects on internet use?

[zihua-uc]

Thank you for sharing! I wonder how other smart devices, such as ipads, apple watch, etc. contribute to internet use and outcomes?

[WonjeYun]

Thank you for presenting your work. It is interesting that unlike popular beliefs, there seem to be variety of ideas shared among people. I wonder if the research is consistent even with including the social media, which seems to gather people with the same thoughts more closely?

[naivetoad]

How do different smartphone dependencies, such as orientation, play, and escape, impact the amount and variety of internet use and the positive outcomes derived from internet use?

[xinyi030]

Thank you for sharing your study! How do you foresee the role of emerging technologies, such as augmented reality and machine learning, in potentially exacerbating or alleviating these dependencies?

[Aiwen-Xiao]

Thank you for sharing your research. In your study, you identify three distinct smartphone dependencies: orientation, play, and escape. How do you foresee these dependencies evolving with advancements in smartphone technology and changes in societal behavior?

[cty20010831]

Thanks for sharing! Can you explain how media system dependency theory applies to smartphone use and personalization?
What are the key aspects of this theory that help in understanding smartphone dependencies?

[Huiyu1999]

Thank you for sharing you research. Based on Media System Dependency (MSD) theory, can you further explain how do the different dependencies on smartphones (orientation, play, and escape) influence the variety and amount of internet use?

[HzSeaski]

Thanks for your sharing! Your findings indicate that smartphone personalization leads to different dependencies and outcomes for different user groups. My question is: how might we address the potential disparities that arise from varying levels of smartphone literacy and customization abilities among users from a policy perspective, ?

[Yunrui11]

Thank you for your work on how smartphone dependencies influence internet outcomes. Your distinction between orientation, play, and escape dependencies provides a nuanced understanding of our interactions with technology. Given the evolving landscape of digital media and its varying impacts on different subpopulations, could you elaborate on the methodologies you employed to categorize these dependencies? Additionally, how do you suggest policymakers or designers of digital platforms could use these insights to foster more beneficial engagements with technology, particularly to mitigate the negative impacts of play and escape dependencies?

[mingxuan-he]

Your study highlights the diverse dependencies people develop with their smartphones and their impact on internet use and outcomes. Could you elaborate on the methodologies used to identify and categorize orientation, play, and escape dependencies? Additionally, how do these dependencies influence specific internet outcomes, and what are the most significant implications for developing a future theory of smartphone use?