Running Head: CELL PHONE USE 1

Cell Phone Use and Human Interaction During Meals

Shelby L. Lazorka

Grand Valley State University

Author Note

This research observation study was prepared for Research Methods in Psychology 300,

Section 14, taught by Professor Dueker.

CELL PHONE USE

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between cell phone use and the number of college students

eating a meal together in a public setting. Data was collected on 50 groups of college students

from Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Kleiner Commons, a main dining hall on the

university’s Allendale campus. Each group of students were observed for a 6-minute time period

and it was noted whether or not participants were seen with a mobile device in their hand and

were seen staring at the device’s screen for at least 30 seconds. The findings showed that the

smaller groups of students eating together used cell phones substantially more than the larger

groups of students.

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Cell Phone Use and Human Interaction During Meals

In today’s society, cell phones and other means of electronic communication are

incredibly influential on the social interactions of young adults and teens. Through the use of cell

phones, people are connected to friends and family at all times. It is not uncommon to see young

adults and teens constantly checking their cell phones for text messages, taking and sharing

pictures and videos, checking social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, playing

games, and so on. This constant connection can cause real life social interactions to feel

inadequate in comparison. A cell phone then forms a sizable obstruction for social interactions to

occur between young adults (Weimer, 2014).

Due to cell phone convenience and portability, people can satisfy their need to

communicate with others whenever and wherever. In a survey of 374 adults conducted by Jin

and Park (2012), a relationship of poor social skills and less involvement in face-to-face

communication was exposed. More face-to-face interactions were associated with lower levels of

loneliness while more cell phone use was associated with greater levels of loneliness. It was also

discovered that people are more likely to use their mobile devices to strengthen previously

established social networks rather than extending them with new relationships. These

relationships on social media can be impersonal and superficial and created just to expand their

online network (Manago et al., 2012). College students develop satisfaction and social support

from these relations because they assemble audiences to fill their need for continuous attention

(Manago et al., 2012).

Ran and Lo (2006) described in their study how a cell phone affects user’s personal and

social relationships and allowed introverted and unsociable people an instant membership in to a

community. Thus, the cell phone has evolved from a luxury business phone into an originator of

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one’s communal relationships. It was found that people who are less socially connected

psychologically use their cell phone as a means of fashion and status and because of this, do not

use their cell phones on a daily basis. Through the use of these mobile devices, people are able to

strengthen bonds among family, friends, neighbors, and members of their own symbolic

community (Ran & Lo, 2006).

The more time college students use their cell phones to engage in social networking and

frequent texting, the less fulfilling they find the experience (Angster et al., 2010). A person’s cell

phone is their gateway to an immense collection of information. The presence of a cell phone has

the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face interactions and thus weaken the character

and depth of these connections (Misra et al., 2014). There is a greater probability that a listener is

going to miss subtle cues, facial expressions, and changes in tone of the speaker if the listener is

using a mobile device. Another factor with the presence of a cell phone during normal

conversation is a lack of eye contact. All of these non-verbal and verbal factors are essential for

fulfilling conversations.

It has been said that cell phones interfere with visual attention, thus creating a distraction

for the people using them (Golden & Schneider, 2003). The more distracted a person is, the less

likely they are going to be aware of external forces. While sitting down for a meal, college

students are unable to make healthy meal choices if they are taking part in mindless behaviors

such as surfing the Internet, texting, or playing games on their cell phones. This mealtime media

use is highly prevalent in older adolescents and can lead to lower odds of choosing fruits,

vegetables, green salads, milk, and other essential nourishing foods for meals (Fulkerson et al.,

2013). Attention training is an important component of a daily health regimen and acting with

awareness is directly related to healthier eating (Bahl et al., 2013). Being able to put down the

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cell phone and just focus on consumption will allow for less over-eating and more satisfaction

with meals.

College allows young adults to expand their social connections. There is more

opportunity to spend free time with new individuals. In a study conducted by Willis (2005), it

was reported that peer groups often alter young adults original eating habits and shift eating

practices away from being home-based meals and more toward riskier or unhealthy foods. Some

of the participants even stated that they would consume certain foods and drinks to fit in to their

new social circle even if they were not hungry or thirsty at that time. Others would not eat at all

in hopes of becoming thinner to also fit in with their peers. Neither one of these practices

produces a healthy, balanced diet for young adults.

The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between cell phone use and the

number of people eating together in a public setting. The research for this study focused on

groups of college students on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale campus. I predicted that

students eating a meal alone while in public are more likely to be seen on their cell phone than

students eating in groups in the same public place.

Methods

Participants

Data was collected on 50 groups of college students from Grand Valley State University

(GVSU) in Kleiner Commons, a main dining hall on the university’s Allendale campus, on

Saturday, November 8, 2014, and Sunday, November 9, 2014, from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm.

Research Design

The amount of people eating together was the independent variable while the use of the

cell phone was the dependent variable in this study. Participants were arranged by the number of

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people sitting together at a table in Kleiner Commons. For each number of participants sitting

together, they were placed in the appropriate category. The categories were Groups of 1, Groups

of 2, Groups of 3, Groups of 4, and Groups of 5. It was said that a cell phone was in use when

the cell phone was in a participant’s hand and the participant’s eyes are focused on the screen of

the phone for at least 30 seconds. Participants were also considered to be using a cell phone if the

mobile device was placed up to their ear. Despite the number of people in the groups, if one

person was observed using a cell phone, it was said that the whole group was using a cell phone.

Measures

The independent variable in this study was the use of the cell phone, which was measured

categorically or nominally. The two sample groups were the use of a cell phone and the lack of

cell phone use. The two samples were independent of each other. The statistical test performed

was a t-test between groups.

Procedure

Participants entered Kleiner Commons on GVSU’s Allendale campus on their own. Upon

entering the restaurant, some individuals went to order and pay for food while others

immediately sat down at a table in the main lounge area. Only the groups of people who were

seated with food in the main lounge area were observed. First, the number of participants in a

group were counted and placed in one of the categories of Group of 1, Groups of 2, Groups of 3,

Groups of 4, and Groups of 5. If a meal was present at the table or in the hands of at least one of

the participants, the 6-minute time period was started. During this time, if any of the participants

in the group were observed with a cell phone in their hand and they were visually staring at the

screen of the phone for at least 30 seconds, a tally was marked in the data collection chart.

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Results

The research question inquired to what extent the number of college students eating

together in a public setting affected cell phone use. A t-test between groups was performed with

a default alpha level of 0.05. The total population of students (49, n=50) using a cell phone (

n=21) was slightly less than population of students not using a cell phone (n=29). There was a

significant effect on cell phone use (t(13.428) ¿ 0.13, p < .001) with students in Groups of 1

using their cell phones during a meal more frequently than any other groups.

1 2 3 4 50

10203040 32%

4% 4% 2% 0%

Cell Phone Use & Groups of Col-lege Students

Groups

Perc

ent (

%) o

f Tot

al P

opul

a-tio

n

Of the 50 total groups of student, 20 were students in Groups of 1, 16 Groups of 2, 8

Groups of 3, 4 Groups of 4, and 2 Groups of 5. The results of the study clearly show that Groups

of 1 using a cell phone (32%) greatly outweighed data from students using cell phones in Groups

of 2 (4%), Groups of 3 (4%), Groups of 4 (2%), and Groups of 5 (0%).

Discussion

The number of students eating in groups inside Kleiner Commons on Grand Valley State

University’s Allendale campus did in fact, influence cell phone use. The data collected supported

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the hypothesis that the students who ate a meal while sitting by themselves are more likely to use

their cell phones than the students who eat in groups. The only category that had more data

showing students using their cell phone being greater than the number of data collected on

students not using their cell phones was the category of Groups of 1. The remainder of the data

supported the hypothesis that larger groups of college students are less likely to use their cell

phone while eating a meal together in comparison to students who eat alone or in smaller groups.

An important result of this study is that individuals are more distracted by their cell

phones when they are not in the presence of another person. When there was more than one

person eating in public, there was little to no visual attention given to a mobile device. However,

cell phones commonly distracted and took away visual attention from smaller groups of

individuals (Golden, 2003). In addition, larger groups of students were not as influenced by

mobile devices as much as the groups of individual students. The mobile technologies present

had the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face interactions (Misra et al., 2014). Misra et

al.’s (2014) study assists in explaining why a singular person is more likely to use a cell phone in

public since they are not diverting their attention away from another person in their actual

presence. Larger groups contained more opportunities for face-to-face conversations.

The study was influenced by the quantity of students present inside of Kleiner Commons

during the times of data collection. Out of students present, data was not collected on students

that were seen wearing headphones connected to a mobile device because headphone use was not

a requirement in the operational definition of cell phone use in this study. Another factor limiting

research collection was the sizable amount of college students that came into Kleiner Commons

to pick up food but then left to eat elsewhere. Data may have been substantially different if these

groups of students decided to stay inside the dining hall. For the groups that chose to stay,

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depending on where they chose to sit, the research may or may not have had a great view of all

members sitting at the table. The different distances between the researcher’s table and the tables

of the groups observed created a window for error in data collection. Lastly, the results should be

viewed within the constraints of the naturalistic features of the experiment. Much like the study

performed by Misra et al. (2014), this study did not manipulate the independent variable of cell

phone use so we are not able to make casual inferences.

In the future, researchers could chose to target a sample of the entire general population

instead of sample of college students on one campus in West Michigan. However, research could

be done on Grand Valley’s campus again but in another dining hall or inside the same dining hall

on different days and at different times. All of these factors can influence the collection of data

when replicating this study.

This study contributes to studies on both communication technology and social

interactions between young adults. The purpose and results of this study provide a convincing

argument for promoting more face-to-face interactions among unaccompanied individuals in

public settings. Using the results from this study, there is significant scope for further exploring

how young adults use their cell phones to avoid face-to-face social interactions. Additional

research can also be done on the quality of face-to-face interactions of young adults while in the

presence of mobile devices. It is hoped that the experimental and conceptual resources supplied

by this study promote a communal consideration on the direction of our technology-focused

society.

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