The Effects of Smartphone Spectatorship on Attention, Arousal, Engagement, and Comprehension.

Kata Szita,Brendan Rooney

doi:10.1177/2041669521993140

Abstract

The popularity of watching movies and videos on handheld devices is rising, yet little attention has been paid to its impact on viewer behaviour. Smartphone spectatorship is characterized by the small handheld screen as well as the viewing environment where various unrelated stimuli can occur, providing possible distractions from viewing. Previous research suggests that screen size, handheld control, and external stimuli can affect viewing experience; however, no prior studies have combined these factors or applied them for the specific case of smartphones. In the present study, we compared smartphone and large-screen viewing of feature films in the presence and absence of external distractors. Using a combination of eye tracking, electrodermal activity measures, self-reports, and recollection accuracy tests, we measured smartphone-accustomed viewers’ attention, arousal, engagement, and comprehension. The results revealed the impact of viewing conditions on eye movements, gaze dispersion, electrodermal activity, self-reports of engagement, as well as comprehension. These findings show that smartphone viewing is more effective when there are no distractions, and smartphone viewers are more likely to be affected by external stimuli. In addition, watching large stationary screens in designated viewing environments increases engagement with a movie.

Highlights

The peculiarity of smartphone spectatorship lies in its pervasiveness, the fact that it has little in the way of cultural, behavioural, temporal, or spatial constraints
In Vorderer et al.’s (2001) work, a similar tendency was observed, conditional to cognitive capacities. These results suggest a negative outcome of interactions during movie watching, they cannot fully predict the effects of smartphone viewing, where hapticity and freedom of control suggest increased engagement
In the lack of existing research to assess the specificities of smartphone spectatorship, we aim to fill a gap by measuring the impact of screen type and distractions on attention, arousal, engagement, and narrative comprehension using eye tracking, Electrodermal activity (EDA) measures, self-reports, and comprehension tests

Summary

Introduction

The peculiarity of smartphone spectatorship lies in its pervasiveness, the fact that it has little in the way of cultural, behavioural, temporal, or spatial constraints. Viewing experiences on smartphones differ from cinematic and home video experiences in a number of features. These differences can be classified in two main ways. First are the device-related differences; the screen is smaller, and the viewer has a bodily connection to the device. That is, they hold the device in their hands and may adjust its position and operations through haptic interaction. The viewing environment (the location context in which the viewing occurs) is predominantly an unenclosed space where various unrelated activities and stimuli can occur in parallel to spectatorship, providing possible distractions from viewing

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