Balancing media selections over time: Emotional valence, informational content, and time intervals of use

The sequencing of information in media can influence processing of content via mechanisms like framing, mood management, and emotion regulation. This study examined three kinds of media sequences on smartphones: (1) balancing positive and negative emotional content; (2) balancing emotional content with informational content; and (3) balancing time spent on and off the media device. Actual media use was measured in natural settings using the Screenomics framework which gathers screenshots from smartphones every 5 s when devices are on. Time-series analyses of 223,531 smartphone sessions recorded from 94 participants showed that emotionally positive content was more likely to follow negative content, and that emotionally negative content was more likely to follow positive content; emotional content was more likely to follow informational content, and informational content was more likely to follow emotional content; and longer smartphone sessions were more likely to follow longer periods of non-use.