Fragmented phone use — not total screen time — is the main driver of information overload, study finds

Amid hot discussion on screen time, social media use and the impact of digital devices on our well-being, a seven-month study from Aalto University in Finland sheds new light on what overwhelms users the most –– and the results aren’t what you might think.

‘Screen time does matter, but the heaviest users aren’t the most overloaded,’ says doctoral researcher Henrik Lassila. ‘Those who feel most overwhelmed are the ones who return to their phone again and again for brief moments and then put it down shortly after.’

The seven-month study followed the digital behaviour of nearly 300 adults in Germany across smartphones and computers. Participants completed repeated surveys about information overload, while all apps and websites used were logged, creating a rich longitudinal dataset of real world- device use.

The findings show that fragmented use occurs most often on mobile devices and especially in messaging. For example, watching a short clip, locking the screen, then returning a few minutes later — patterns that create gaps and constant task switching. These ‘bursty’ routines were most strongly associated with feeling overwhelmed, even when total time spent on devices was similar.

‘We feel overloaded when we can’t process all the incoming information and our minds feel ‘full’ or stressed,’ Lassila says. ‘Information overload is linked with negative emotions, which can in turn drive more checking — a vicious cycle.’ While the study doesn’t directly address the question of why fragmented checking is so stressful, Lassila suggests that task-switching has been identified in other studies as particularly cognitively tiring.

Interestingly, although fragmented use often includes messaging, the study found that more time spent messaging did not by itself correspond to higher digital overwhelm. Rather, it was the short, frequent returns to the device that mattered most.

Hard habits to break

Earlier surveys have suggested that people quit social media when they feel a sense of digital overwhelm. The new study found little evidence for that. ‘People find it hard to change their behaviour,’ says Professor Janne Lindqvist. ‘Surprisingly, highly overloaded and non-overloaded participants used their devices for roughly the same total time over the study period. Those at the highest levels of overload tended to stay there, and those not overloaded rarely became overloaded.’

According to the researchers, device use and the feeling of overload are tightly woven into daily routines, making them difficult to change. One practical idea is a ‘micro-check tracker’ that would show users how often they return to their phones in short bursts. ‘You don’t need to respond to every ping immediately. Do one thing at a time,’ Lindqvist advises. ‘Ideally, turn off non-essential notifications and be present with whatever you’re doing.’

In a follow-up study currently under peer review, the team also finds that overload correlates with psychological stress, negative emotions- and anxiety.

‘These days many of us are on our phones repeatedly,’ Lindqvist says. ‘Try batching: check messages twice a day and reply in one session. Based on our findings, you may feel less stressed.’

The paper, ‘Stop Fiddling With Your Phone and Go Offline’, will be presented at CHI 2026, the leading conference on human–computer interaction, and is available online here.