Research
You already know how it feels. The evidence just agrees.
We keep this section deliberately small. Lived experience is the stronger argument, and overstating the science would be its own kind of dishonesty.
Attention takes time to return after an interruption.
Studies of interrupted knowledge work consistently find that resuming a task takes meaningfully longer than the interruption itself. The cost of a glance is not the glance.
A phone in view can reduce available attention even when unused.
Research on device presence suggests that having a smartphone visible occupies some cognitive capacity — the effect is modest, and it is contested. Treat it as suggestive, not settled.
Sleep and evening screen use are linked.
Evening device use is associated with later sleep onset and shorter sleep. Association is not causation, and effect sizes vary widely across studies.
Presence is noticed by the people around you.
Work on 'phubbing' finds that partners and children report lower relationship satisfaction when a phone competes for attention. Self-report has real limits here.
Where we're honest about limits
Much of this literature relies on self-reported use, short study windows, or samples that don't look like everyone. Effects are real but usually modest. Nothing here proves that a simpler phone will change your life — only that the pull you feel is not imaginary.