The importance of analogue zeitgebers to reduce digital addictive tendencies in the 21st century

Christian Montag; Christopher Kannen; Bernd Lachmann; Rayna Sariyska; Éilish Duke; Martin Reuter; Alexander Markowetz

doi:10.1016/j.abrep.2015.04.002

The importance of analogue zeitgebers to reduce digital addictive tendencies in the 21st century

Addict Behav Rep. 2015 Apr 23:2:23-27. doi: 10.1016/j.abrep.2015.04.002. eCollection 2015 Dec.

Authors

Christian Montag¹, Christopher Kannen², Bernd Lachmann¹, Rayna Sariyska¹, Éilish Duke³, Martin Reuter⁴, Alexander Markowetz²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany.
² Department of Informatics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.
³ Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths, University of London, London, UK.
⁴ Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Germany.

Abstract

Analogue zeitgebers such as wristwatches and alarm clocks are essential for structuring everyday life. Since the dawn of the digital revolution - particularly since the advent of the smartphone - mobile phones have increasingly replaced analogue zeitgebers as a means of telling time. This functionality may prove problematic, in that it may contribute to the overuse of digital media (e.g. when checking the time turns into extended use of other smartphone utilities, including Internet-based applications). Of N = 3084 participants, 45% reported wearing a wristwatch and 67% used an analogue alarm clock. We observed that participants who reported using analogue zeitgebers used their mobile-/smartphone significantly less. Use of analogue zeitgebers may prove a practical tool for therapeutic and preventative interventions for problematic Internet use in an increasingly digital age.

Keywords: Alarm clock; Internet addiction; Smartphone addiction; Wristwatch; Zeitgeber.