Students with visible notifications check their phones more frequently in class than students with hidden notifications¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3 · i3 large
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i3 The NR group exhibited significantly higher phone-use frequency than the NH group (Cohen's d = 1.824). → Liao 2026

Evidence¶

Liao 2026¶

Liao, H.-H., Liu, T.-C., & Lin, Y.-C. (2026). External and internal smartphone distractions: Effects on phone use and learning performance in college classrooms. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-026-09794-3

q3 · i3 · causal · r2

Independent-samples t-test (Welch's correction) comparing phone-use frequency between the notification-revealed (N = 42) and notification-hidden (N = 42) groups in a classroom video-lesson experiment. The quote shows the "significantly higher PUF" with d = 1.824.

"the NR group exhibited a significantly higher PUF than the NH group (alternative hypothesis: NR > NH; t = 8.358, df = 45.276, p < .001, Cohen's d = 1.824; H1 supported)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Phone-use frequency and duration increase phone-use mental effort, which negatively affects learning performance, mediating the behavior–performance link
• Habitual phone use heightens smartphone vigilance but does not directly increase checking frequency; it lengthens use duration only when notifications are hidden — related
• Notification-hidden students showed longer average phone-use duration and no performance difference versus notification-revealed students — related
• Phone-use behavior under hidden notifications is highly heterogeneous: about half of NH students abstained entirely, and most NR checks were brief glances — related
• Smartphone settings moderate how vigilance translates into phone use: vigilance raises checking frequency more when notifications are revealed, and use duration more when notifications are hidden — related