Smartphone spectatorship in unenclosed environments: The physiological impacts of visual and sonic distraction during movie watching on mobile devices

Abstract

Smartphones’ popularity is largely based on their pervasiveness, portability, and the wide range of functions they encompass: they can play high-definition moving-image content without spatial and temporal constraints. However, the lack of spatial and temporal frameworks can account for distractions. Distractions (generally sonic or visual information) can originate from the surrounding environment or from the device itself and they may or may not hold semantic links to the content being watched. In this paper, we argue that the distraction effect in movie watching is based on a distractor’s modality, neutrality, and ecological relevance to the movie. To test the effects of these properties, we recorded viewers’ gaze and electrodermal activity while they watched a narrative film sequence on smartphone and projector screens in the presence of sonic and visual distractors. We found that screen type can affect attention and arousal: in comparison to projector viewers, smartphone viewers experienced lower arousal and were more likely to shift their attention from the movie even when a distractor closely related to the movie was played. It was also observed that distractors that require urgent attention and are unrelated to the movie redirect the viewer’s attention and increases electrodermal activity values. In contrast, distractors with ecological relevance to the movie are less likely to induce changes in attention and arousal.