ASSOCIATE
Adults, Smartphones, and Social Interactions
Social interactions are essential for building human relationships and promoting well-being. Paradoxically, despite living in a hyperconnected world and having more opportunities than ever to interact with others, loneliness and social isolation arealso on the rise, reflecting a growing emotional disconnect in an increasingly connected world.
In this context, integrating online and offline interactions is essential. However, there is still a lack programs of study that analyze how people’s relationship with their smartphones influences their social lives. At the same time, research that it is not the quantity of interactions that reduces loneliness, but rather their quality and the sense of closeness they generate. Furthermore, various schools of thought emphasize that both meaningful relationships and moments of enriching solitude are equally important for well-being and development .
core topic Questions
Building on the above, the project poses the following core topic questions:
How do you balance social interactions and moments of solitude in everyday life?
What defines a high-quality interaction?
Are certain interactions—especially in close relationships— more effective at fostering social connection and reducing loneliness?
What situational characteristics best meet individual psychological needs, especially in people with social anxiety?
How does raising awareness about smartphone use in the presence of others improve the quality of face-to-face interactions?
Project's goals
To explore how relationships among emerging adults are influenced by stable social characteristics of individuals.
To identify intra- and inter-individual variability in everyday communication episodes (e.g., meaningful conversations, catching up, or joking), based on both dynamic individual factors (such as social anxiety or age) and situational factors (such as the setting or the purpose the interaction).
Conduct a Experimental Study on Sampling Experiences, collecting extensive data over 28 days (140 point-in-time questionnaires, 4 per day).
