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-LIN]

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?

[muhua-h]

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?