Computers in Human Behavior 76 (2017) 68-74 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR Computers in Human Behavior ELSEVIER journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh Full length article Digitally connected, socially disconnected: The effects of relying on technology rather than other people CrossMark Kostadin Kushlev", Jason D.E. Proulx, Elizabeth W. Dunn Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, 2136 West Mall, V6T 1Z4, Vancouver, BC, Canada ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT In less than a decade, smartphones have transformed how, when, and where people access information. We propose that turning to technology for information may lead individuals to miss out on opportunities to cultivate feelings of social connection. Testing this hypothesis, we asked participants to find an un- familiar building and randomly assigned them to solve this everyday problem either with or without their smartphones. Compared to those who could not rely on technology, participants who used their smartphones found the building more easily but ended up feeling less socially connected. Although having access to smartphones improved participants' mood by making their task easier, this beneficial effect was diminished by the costs to social connection. Our findings provide the first experimental evidence that the benefits of pervasive connectivity may be undercut when technology supplants social interactions. Article history: Received 10 June 2016 Received in revised form 20 April 2017 Accepted 1 July 2017 Available online 3 July 2017 Keywords: Happiness Human-computer interaction Cyberpsychology Social behavior Well-being Ubiquitous computing Pervasive connectivity c 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Smartphones are the first thing many Americans report reach- ing for when they wake up in the morning-beating out coffee or even their own significant others, according to a recent survey (Braun Research Inc, 2015). In the same nationally representative survey, almost half of Americans admitted that they could not go a day without their smartphones. Smartphones provide unprece- dented access to information, enabling individuals to harness the full resources of the Internet from anywhere. But could this omnipresent access to information carry unforeseen consequences for the fabric of social life? Smartphones represent a new branch in the evolution of infor- mation technology because of two defining characteristics. First, unlike many other computing devices, smartphones are portable and constantly accessible, pervading people's daily lives (Pew Research Center, 2015). Second, unlike other portable sources of information-from simple cell phones to newspapers and maps-smartphones provide connectivity to limitless information * Corresponding author. Present address: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, 102 Gilmer Hall, PO Box 400400, Charlottesville, VA, USA. E-mail addresses: kushlevk@gmail.com (K. Kushlev), j.proulx19@gmail.com (J.D.E. Proulx), edunn@psych.ubc.ca (E.W. Dunn). on-demand, enabling people to solve a wide variety of everyday problems. It is this pervasive connectivity that theoretically sets smartphones apart from any preceding information tool. There is a great deal of public debate (e.g., Schwartz, 2015; Turkle, 2011, 2015), but a dearth of rigorous experimental research on the effects of this emerging technological revolution for social and emotional well- being. Most existing research relevant to the effects of phones on well- being has focused on