Urban-Themed Mobile Phone Wallpapers Reduce Connectedness with Nature Compared with Nature-Themed Wallpapers: Evidence from Two-Field Studies

Mobile phone wallpapers, despite their seemingly small presence, may have significant psychological consequences due to the pervasive and recurrent exposure experienced by millions of people during their phone usage. We conducted two-field experiments, each spanning a duration of 2 weeks (Study 1: n = 81; Study 2: n = 166), to evaluate the influence of phone wallpaper image on individuals’ implicit connectedness with nature. Results consistently showed that urban wallpapers lacking natural elements resulted in lower connectedness with nature compared with nature wallpapers. Our findings identify one pathway through which screen time can adversely impact human-nature relations and highlight the psychological impacts of often overlooked background images on display interfaces.