All Things in Moderation: The Effects of a Media Fast on Mobile Phone Habits, Self-Control, Well-Being, and Interpersonal Competence in Emerging Adults

Abstract

Recent literature has explored the construct of “problematic smartphone use” (PSU), an excessive use of the mobile phone linked with a host of negative psychological and interpersonal outcomes. The “media fast,” a temporary period of unplugging from devices, has been proposed as an intervention to mitigate excessive smartphone use and its associated problems. Media fast studies have generated mixed findings, and additional research is needed to better understand the effectiveness of media fasting. The present study aimed to further an understanding of problematic and moderate smartphone use by assessing smartphone use and potentially related factors (self-control, well-being, and interpersonal competence) in a sample of emerging adults before, immediately after, and five weeks following a media fast. In addition to the main effects of the fast, causal relationships among the variables were investigated. ANOVA analyses revealed significant differences in self-control, phubbing, and some dimensions of well-being and interpersonal competence before and after the fast, while linear regression analyses showed significant predictive relationships between self-control and some dimensions of phone use as well as between some dimensions of phone use and outcome variables (well-being, interpersonal competence). Findings were reviewed in light of dual-systems theory, Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue theory, and the Catholic Christian Meta-Model of the Person (CCMMP) to explore how an understanding of the classical virtue of temperance might contribute to a conceptualization of moderate smartphone use. Findings from this study constitute a unique contribution to the smartphone literature and serve as practical guidance to users striving for moderate phone use, greater well-being, and flourishing friendships.