Episode 112 - Is Your Smartphone Killing Your Dreams?

<h2 data-pm-slice="0 0 []"><strong>Summary</strong></h2> <p class="">It turns out that smartphone use is associated with shorter-term thinking and a focus on quick wins. The more you use your smartphone, the less likely you are to pursue longer term achievement of bigger goals. So this week we ask the question - Is your smartphone killing your dreams?</p> <p class="" data-rte-preserve-empty="true"> </p> <h2><strong>Transcript</strong></h2> <p class="">Hello and welcome to episode 112 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we bring research to life in your leadership. This week we’re looking at whether your smartphone is killing your dreams. Pretty dramatic.</p> <p class="">I’ve picked up my smartphone 32 times already today. Now, how do I know that? Because pickup number 32 was to check how many pickups I had used today. My average pickups per day is 86. I have no idea if that’s good or bad, or how you might compare. Either way, smartphones have become an integral part of how we work, how we socialise and how we relax. There are few parts of our lives that smartphones haven’t managed to invade.</p> <p class="">You might suspect that all that smartphone use is making us more reactive and impulsive. That ‘ding’ or vibration from your pocket can easily steal your attention, if only for a split second. Our brains are notoriously bad at handling this. Once something has grabbed our attention, it takes a while to get back to what we were initially focusing on.</p> <p class="">Recent research shows that those who spend more time on their smartphones also tend towards chasing smaller and more immediate rewards. They tend to steer away from longer-term rewards that require greater effort. They are more impulsive. This effect is particularly pronounced for those who use gaming and social media apps.</p> <p class="">Is smartphone use causing this impulsivity, or is smartphone use a measure of impulsivity? It’s hard to say and look it probably goes both ways. </p> <p class="">Now, you might say, I’ve heard social me