Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Among the popular press, excessive smartphone usage is often broadcast as being associated with adverse outcomes, in-cluding greater risk taking, poor social adjustment, and impaired cognitive functioning. However, there is scant empiricalevidence that supports these claims. Our study investigated whether the duration of smartphone ownership (exposure)affects smartphone usage pattern (screen-time), and whether their interaction is associated with risk-taking behavior (Ben-thin Risk Perception questionnaire). We found that those with lower screen-time reported engaging in a higher frequencyof risky activities like vandalism of property, B = -4.80, SE = 1.65, t = -2.91, p ¡ 0.01. Screen-time was inversely asso-ciated with risk taking among individuals characterized by less exposure, B=4.66, SE=2.01, t=2.32, p=0.03. Altogether,these early findings illustrate how the impact of screen-time on real-life behaviors may not be as one-sided as mass mediaportrays.