Having your phone on silent mode is something you see far more commonly today compared to two decades ago, as the age of constant notifications can often make the pings and bells feel never ending, yet psychologists have revealed that the reasoning behind going silent could actually have a deeper meaning.
With how much we all use our smartphones these days it's easy to see certain behaviors reflect specific personality types. Researchers have indicated that repeatedly checking your own Instagram story could be a clear sign of narcissism, and excessive screen time has a number of negative health benefits that can harm your memory and overall cognitive function.
However, something as simple as putting your phone on silent is revealed to show a number of different psychological patterns that have unexpected consequences when it comes to daily life, as reported by Talk Android.
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One of the biggest reasons why many choose to opt for silent mode is to enhance their focus, as it's understandably distracting if your phone is constantly pinging and ringing while you're trying to get something done.
Research conducted by the National Library of Medicine outlines that the concept of 'flow state', which denotes the period of deep concentration where productivity peaks, is difficult to achieve and can often be disrupted when notification sounds are enabled.
Additionally, those who are more likely to show signs of smartphone addiction are far more easily distracted when notification sounds are turned on, as it is constantly pulling them away from what they're supposed to be doing.
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One discovery that might shock you though is that, in some cases, having notifications silenced on your phone can actually increase the number of times that you end up checking it, ultimately distracting you more from your work.
Participants in a University of Pennsylvania experiment checked their phone far more (98.2 daily checks) when on silent mode compared to having their phone on vibrate (52.9 daily checks), and this is likely linked to the fear of missing out, otherwise known as 'FOMO'.
In essence, when you have notifications enabled you always know when you're being contacted or whenever your phone wants to notify you of something, so you likely only check your phone when it 'tells' you to.
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However, when notifications are silenced the onus is far more on the user to stay aware of any updates, and it can lead to situations where people check their phone far more than they need in the fear that they've missed something important like a vital message or call, or that something is happening that they're not a part of.
Researchers link this behavior to the fact that your brain doesn't like uncertainty and being in the dark, and without the prompt of a notification sound, you never truly know when your next message comes through.
This won't affect everyone, and many people will find the silence of their phone's no notification sounds freeing, but for others it can actually increase their anxiety and significantly harm their focus in the long run.