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Measuring the Switch Cost of Smartphone Use While Walking
Published on: April 30, 2020
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Using a smartphone on the move: do visual constraints explain why we slow walking speed?
Alejandro Rubio Barañano1, Muhammad Faisal2, Brendan T Barrett1
1School of Optometry and Vision Science, University of Bradford, Bradford, UK.
Experimental Brain Research
|November 18, 2021
Summary
Reading on smartphones while walking slows you down. Increased phone motion variability, especially at faster speeds or when the phone is fixed, significantly impairs phone-reading performance (PRP). Smoother head movements at slower speeds improve readability.
Area of Science:
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Biomechanics
- Vision Science
Background:
- Smartphone use while walking is common, often leading to reduced walking speed.
- This speed reduction may be due to visual challenges in reading a moving phone screen.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how walking-induced phone motion affects the ability to read on-screen information.
- To quantify the relationship between phone motion, walking speed, and phone-reading performance (PRP).
Main Methods:
- Participants walked on a treadmill at various speeds (Slow, Customary, Fast).
- Phone-reading performance (PRP) was assessed by reading digits aloud after a 2-second phone view.
- 3D motion analysis quantified phone motion relative to the head, assessing acceleration variability.
Main Results:
- PRP decreased significantly with increased walking speed, particularly in fixed or braced conditions.
- Walking speed and condition significantly affected phone's relative motion and acceleration variability.
- Higher phone acceleration variability was inversely associated with PRP, indicating poorer reading performance.
Conclusions:
- Walking speed reduction while viewing phones is linked to maintaining stable retinal images for legibility.
- Smoother head motion at slower speeds allows better coupling of phone motion with head movement.
- This coupling reduces demands on the oculomotor system, facilitating easier reading of phone screens.
