Mobile phones are a major source of distraction in our daily lives, even when we are not actively using them. Research shows that just a notification, a beep, or a vibration significantly disrupts our performance on tasks that require concentration. Remarkably, this disruption is as great as when someone is actually on a call or texting. You don’t even need to look at your phone to get distracted; that little sound or vibration is enough to lose your focus.
The reason these short notifications have such a big impact lies in what happens in our minds afterward. A notification triggers a series of thoughts unrelated to what you are doing. You start to wonder who sent a message, what’s in it, if it’s important… in short, your thoughts wander. This phenomenon, also known as ‘mind wandering’, lasts much longer than the notification itself. Even after the sound is gone, those thoughts linger in your head, and your performance continues to decline.
This explains why distraction by your phone is so persistent: it’s not just about the time spent checking your phone, but mainly about the mental interruption that lasts much longer. Our limited attention capacity must be divided over multiple things simultaneously, and when a part of it is consumed by thoughts about that notification, less is left for the task that requires our full attention.
