Smartphone Addiction Modulates Object-Based Attention

Smartphone addiction has been linked to altered attentional functioning. However, it remains unclear whether these alterations are associated with enhanced attentional bias or impaired attentional shifting. Moreover, previous studies have largely relied on self-report measures, and evidence for attentional bias has mainly been obtained using smartphone-related stimuli. This study employed the classic two-rectangle paradigm to compare selective attention (including space-based and object-based attention) between individuals with high and low levels of smartphone addiction and to determine whether smartphone addiction primarily relates to attentional bias or attentional shifting. The results indicated that smartphone addiction significantly modulated object-based attention. More precisely, the high-addiction group exhibited a larger object-based attention effect than the low-addiction group, a difference primarily driven by the significantly longer reaction times of high-addiction individuals in the invalid different-object (IDO) condition, while no group difference was observed in the invalid same-object (ISO) condition. Furthermore, the high-addiction group exhibited significantly slower overall reaction times in the experimental tasks. These findings suggest that smartphone addiction is associated with attentional functioning and may involve poorer attentional shifting performance during object-based attention.