Phone a Friend: How Phone Use Bolsters Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has shifted many face-to-face interactions to digital platforms. In this study, we sought to determine whether and to what degree this shift to mediated interactions has impacted well-being. In order to do this, we collected data on phone use, social interactions, and well-being through a 14-day ecological momentary assessment study to observe the relationships between a variety of common phone uses (voice calling, video calling, group calling, online messaging/texting, browsing social media, commenting on social media, and creating social media posts), and affect and social connection. Our results indicated that voice calling, video calling, group calling, and creating social media posts predicted significantly improved well-being, whereas browsing social media related to the most negative outcomes. While we observed that face-to-face interaction predicted the largest increases in affect and social connection, the findings of our study suggest that certain kinds of mediated interactions can serve as a way to bolster wellbeing during times of social distance and isolation.