This is a research paper I wrote for my Research in Psychology class at Grand Valley State University fall 2013.

1. Running Head: CELL PHONE USE 1
Cell Phone Use and Human Interaction During Meals
Shelby L. Lazorka
Grand Valley State University
Author Note
This research observation study was prepared for Research Methods in Psychology 300,
Section 14, taught by Professor Dueker.

2. CELL PHONE USE 2
Abstract
This study examined the relationship between cell phone use and the number of college students
eating a meal together in a public setting. Data was collected on 50 groups of college students
from Grand Valley State University (GVSU) in Kleiner Commons, a main dining hall on the
university’s Allendale campus. Each group of students were observed for a 6-minute time period
and it was noted whether or not participants were seen with a mobile device in their hand and
were seen staring at the device’s screen for at least 30 seconds. The findings showed that the
smaller groups of students eating together used cell phones substantially more than the larger
groups of students.

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Cell Phone Use and Human Interaction During Meals
In today’s society, cell phones and other means of electronic communication are
incredibly influential on the social interactions of young adults and teens. Through the use of cell
phones, people are connected to friends and family at all times. It is not uncommon to see young
adults and teens constantly checking their cell phones for text messages, taking and sharing
pictures and videos, checking social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, playing
games, and so on. This constant connection can cause real life social interactions to feel
inadequate in comparison. A cell phone then forms a sizable obstruction for social interactions to
occur between young adults (Weimer, 2014).
Due to cell phone convenience and portability, people can satisfy their need to
communicate with others whenever and wherever. In a survey of 374 adults conducted by Jin
and Park (2012), a relationship of poor social skills and less involvement in face-to-face
communication was exposed. More face-to-face interactions were associated with lower levels of
loneliness while more cell phone use was associated with greater levels of loneliness. It was also
discovered that people are more likely to use their mobile devices to strengthen previously
established social networks rather than extending them with new relationships. These
relationships on social media can be impersonal and superficial and created just to expand their
online network (Manago et al., 2012). College students develop satisfaction and social support
from these relations because they assemble audiences to fill their need for continuous attention
(Manago et al., 2012).
Ran and Lo (2006) described in their study how a cell phone affects user’s personal and
social relationships and allowed introverted and unsociable people an instant membership in to a
community. Thus, the cell phone has evolved from a luxury business phone into an originator of

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one’s communal relationships. It was found that people who are less socially connected
psychologically use their cell phone as a means of fashion and status and because of this, do not
use their cell phones on a daily basis. Through the use of these mobile devices, people are able to
strengthen bonds among family, friends, neighbors, and members of their own symbolic
community (Ran & Lo, 2006).
The more time college students use their cell phones to engage in social networking and
frequent texting, the less fulfilling they find the experience (Angster et al., 2010). A person’s cell
phone is their gateway to an immense collection of information. The presence of a cell phone has
the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face interactions and thus weaken the character
and depth of these connections (Misra et al., 2014). There is a greater probability that a listener is
going to miss subtle cues, facial expressions, and changes in tone of the speaker if the listener is
using a mobile device. Another factor with the presence of a cell phone during normal
conversation is a lack of eye contact. All of these non-verbal and verbal factors are essential for
fulfilling conversations.
It has been said that cell phones interfere with visual attention, thus creating a distraction
for the people using them (Golden & Schneider, 2003). The more distracted a person is, the less
likely they are going to be aware of external forces. While sitting down for a meal, college
students are unable to make healthy meal choices if they are taking part in mindless behaviors
such as surfing the Internet, texting, or playing games on their cell phones. This mealtime media
use is highly prevalent in older adolescents and can lead to lower odds of choosing fruits,
vegetables, green salads, milk, and other essential nourishing foods for meals (Fulkerson et al.,
2013). Attention training is an important component of a daily health regimen and acting with
awareness is directly related to healthier eating (Bahl et al., 2013). Being able to put down the

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cell phone and just focus on consumption will allow for less over-eating and more satisfaction
with meals.
College allows young adults to expand their social connections. There is more
opportunity to spend free time with new individuals. In a study conducted by Willis (2005), it
was reported that peer groups often alter young adults original eating habits and shift eating
practices away from being home-based meals and more toward riskier or unhealthy foods. Some
of the participants even stated that they would consume certain foods and drinks to fit in to their
new social circle even if they were not hungry or thirsty at that time. Others would not eat at all
in hopes of becoming thinner to also fit in with their peers. Neither one of these practices
produces a healthy, balanced diet for young adults.
The purpose of this study is to examine the associations between cell phone use and the
number of people eating together in a public setting. The research for this study focused on
groups of college students on Grand Valley State University’s Allendale campus. I predicted that
students eating a meal alone while in public are more likely to be seen on their cell phone than
students eating in groups in the same public place.
Methods
Participants
Data was collected on 50 groups of college students from Grand Valley State University
(GVSU) in Kleiner Commons, a main dining hall on the university’s Allendale campus, on
Saturday, November 8, 2014, and Sunday, November 9, 2014, from 11:00 am – 1:30 pm.
ResearchDesign
The amount of people eating together was the independent variable while the use of the
cell phone was the dependent variable in this study. Participants were arranged by the number of

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people sitting together at a table in Kleiner Commons. For each number of participants sitting
together, they were placed in the appropriate category. The categories were Groups of 1, Groups
of 2, Groups of 3, Groups of 4, and Groups of 5. It was said that a cell phone was in use when
the cell phone was in a participant’s hand and the participant’s eyes are focused on the screen of
the phone for at least 30 seconds. Participants were also considered to be using a cell phone if the
mobile device was placed up to their ear. Despite the number of people in the groups, if one
person was observed using a cell phone, it was said that the whole group was using a cell phone.
Measures
The independent variable in this study was the use of the cell phone, which was measured
categorically or nominally. The two sample groups were the use of a cell phone and the lack of
cell phone use. The two samples were independent of each other. The statistical test performed
was a t-test between groups.
Procedure
Participants entered Kleiner Commons on GVSU’s Allendale campus on their own. Upon
entering the restaurant, some individuals went to order and pay for food while others
immediately sat down at a table in the main lounge area. Only the groups of people who were
seated with food in the main lounge area were observed. First, the number of participants in a
group were counted and placed in one of the categories of Group of 1, Groups of 2, Groups of 3,
Groups of 4, and Groups of 5. If a meal was present at the table or in the hands of at least one of
the participants, the 6-minute time period was started. During this time, if any of the participants
in the group were observed with a cell phone in their hand and they were visually staring at the
screen of the phone for at least 30 seconds, a tally was marked in the data collection chart.

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Results
The research question inquired to what extent the number of college students eating
together in a public setting affected cell phone use. A t-test between groups was performed with
a default alpha level of 0.05. The total population of students (49, 𝑛 = 50) using a cell phone
(𝑛 = 21) was slightly less than population of students not using a cell phone (𝑛 = 29). There
was a significant effect on cell phone use (𝑡(13.428) = 0.13, p < .001) with students in Groups of
1 using their cell phones during a meal more frequently than any other groups.
Of the 50 total groups of student, 20 were students in Groups of 1, 16 Groups of 2, 8
Groups of 3, 4 Groups of 4, and 2 Groups of 5. The results of the study clearly show that Groups
of 1 using a cell phone (32%) greatly outweighed data from students using cell phones in Groups
of 2 (4%), Groups of 3 (4%), Groups of 4 (2%), and Groups of 5 (0%).
Discussion
The number of students eating in groups inside Kleiner Commons on Grand Valley State
University’s Allendale campus did in fact, influence cell phone use. The data collected supported
32%
4% 4% 2% 0%
0
10
20
30
40
1 2 3 4 5
Percent(%)ofTotal
Population
Groups
Cell Phone Use & Groups of
College Students

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the hypothesis that the students who ate a meal while sitting by themselves are more likely to use
their cell phones than the students who eat in groups. The only category that had more data
showing students using their cell phone being greater than the number of data collected on
students not using their cell phones was the category of Groups of 1. The remainder of the data
supported the hypothesis that larger groups of college students are less likely to use their cell
phone while eating a meal together in comparison to students who eat alone or in smaller groups.
An important result of this study is that individuals are more distracted by their cell
phones when they are not in the presence of another person. When there was more than one
person eating in public, there was little to no visual attention given to a mobile device. However,
cell phones commonly distracted and took away visual attention from smaller groups of
individuals (Golden, 2003). In addition, larger groups of students were not as influenced by
mobile devices as much as the groups of individual students. The mobile technologies present
had the potential to divert individuals from face-to-face interactions (Misra et al., 2014). Misra et
al.’s (2014) study assists in explaining why a singular person is more likely to use a cell phone in
public since they are not diverting their attention away from another person in their actual
presence. Larger groups contained more opportunities for face-to-face conversations.
The study was influenced by the quantity of students present inside of Kleiner Commons
during the times of data collection. Out of students present, data was not collected on students
that were seen wearing headphones connected to a mobile device because headphone use was not
a requirement in the operational definition of cell phone use in this study. Another factor limiting
research collection was the sizable amount of college students that came into Kleiner Commons
to pick up food but then left to eat elsewhere. Data may have been substantially different if these
groups of students decided to stay inside the dining hall. For the groups that chose to stay,

9. CELL PHONE USE 9
depending on where they chose to sit, the research may or may not have had a great view of all
members sitting at the table. The different distances between the researcher’s table and the tables
of the groups observed created a window for error in data collection. Lastly, the results should be
viewed within the constraints of the naturalistic features of the experiment. Much like the study
performed by Misra et al. (2014), this study did not manipulate the independent variable of cell
phone use so we are not able to make casual inferences.
In the future, researchers could chose to target a sample of the entire general population
instead of sample of college students on one campus in West Michigan. However, research could
be done on Grand Valley’s campus again but in another dining hall or inside the same dining hall
on different days and at different times. All of these factors can influence the collection of data
when replicating this study.
This study contributes to studies on both communication technology and social
interactions between young adults. The purpose and results of this study provide a convincing
argument for promoting more face-to-face interactions among unaccompanied individuals in
public settings. Using the results from this study, there is significant scope for further exploring
how young adults use their cell phones to avoid face-to-face social interactions. Additional
research can also be done on the quality of face-to-face interactions of young adults while in the
presence of mobile devices. It is hoped that the experimental and conceptual resources supplied
by this study promote a communal consideration on the direction of our technology-focused
society.

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getting-students-to-put-away-their-phones-and-focus-on-learning/
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