Stop viewing your phone as a “mood fixer.” Recognize it as a distraction that might be delaying your emotional recovery rather than helping it.
THE KEY DISCOVERIES
- Massive Data Set: Researchers analyzed over 50,000 data points from more than 1,000 adults to track how smartphones impact real-time emotions.
- The Selection Trap: People are significantly more likely to reach for their phones to express feelings or avoid reality when they are already feeling down.
- Zero Relief: Despite using the phone as a tool to feel better, there was no meaningful evidence that smartphone use actually reduced negative emotions over a three-hour window.
- Avoidance Backfire: Using a phone specifically to “avoid” feelings was actually linked to a minor increase in negative affect later on.
- Behavioral Split: While “expressing” feelings leads to more direct messaging, “avoiding” feelings leads to mindless social media scrolling.
The Digital “Band-Aid” That Isn’t Working
We have all been there.
You have a stressful day at work, or you feel a sudden wave of anxiety, and your hand instinctively reaches for your smartphone.
You might text a friend to vent or open a social media app to lose yourself in a sea of short videos. It feels like a solution in the moment, but an hour later, that heavy feeling in your chest is still there.
This frustration is now backed by rigorous science. Lead researcher David de Segovia Vicente and his team at Ghent University recently published a groundbreaking study in the journal Emotion.
Their work confirms that while we use our devices as emotional tools, they are not actually performing the job we want them to do.
By examining the lives of over 1,000 people, the team found a significant gap between why we pick up our phones and the actual effect they have on our mental health.
Why We Reach for the Screen: The Media Selection Effect
According to lead researcher David de Segovia Vicente, our phone habits are driven by what scientists call media selection.
This means our current mood dictates our digital behavior.
When negative affect, a scientific term for bad moods, stress, or anxiety increases, our tendency to use the phone as a “shield” or a “megaphone” also goes up.
The study tracked two primary strategies.
The first is emotion expression, where you use the phone to tell others how you feel.
The second is emotion avoidance, where you use the device to distract yourself from a painful thought.
The data showed that individuals consistently turned to these strategies when they felt “down” or “anxious”.
Your phone has become a “portable regulator” that you grab the moment life feels uncomfortable.
The Harsh Truth: Smartphones Do Not Lower Stress
The most shocking finding from the team is the lack of media effects.
Even though participants hoped their phones would help them feel better, the research showed no evidence of a “downregulation” of bad moods.
In simpler terms, the phone does not actually lower your stress levels or make you less sad over the following three hours.
David de Segovia Vicente and his colleagues found that while we think we are helping ourselves, the emotional state remains largely unchanged.
For those who used their phones for avoidance, the results were even more concerning.
This strategy actually had a small association with increased negative feelings later in the day.
This suggests that “hiding” in your phone might actually make the emotional weight heavier when you finally look up from the screen.
Scrolling vs. Texting: How Your Apps Shape Your Mood
The researchers used passive sensing, or digital logs, to see exactly what people were doing on their phones.
They discovered a clear divide in how different apps serve different emotional goals.
According to the study, if your goal is to express your feelings, you are far more likely to spend time on communication apps like WhatsApp or Telegram.
However, if your goal is avoidance, you are likely to fall into the “mindless scrolling” trap on social media platforms.
The team found that social media use is closely tied to the desire to disengage from reality.
These platforms are designed to hold your attention, making them the perfect tool for someone who wants to ignore their current problems.
Unfortunately, this “micro-escape” does not lead to long-term relief.
Is Your Phone Use Personal?
One of the study’s key questions was whether these effects are the same for everyone.
The team used a person-specific approach to see if some individuals are “better” at using their phones for mood management than others.
They found that while the reasons people pick up their phones vary wildly, the results are remarkably consistent across the board.
Almost no one in the study experienced a significant, lasting boost in mood from using their smartphone to regulate their emotions.
Interestingly, the researchers did notice an age gap.
Younger participants were much more likely to use their phones for emotion regulation than older adults.
This suggests that younger generations may be more reliant on digital tools for “feeling better,” even if those tools are not actually working.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR YOU
The core takeaway is that your smartphone is a reactive tool, not a curative one.
You are using it to cope with a mood, but the device itself is not providing the emotional resolution you need to actually move past that mood.
1. Identify the Leverage Point
The Insight:
The study found that “avoidance” through scrolling can actually lead to a minor increase in negative feelings over time.
The Action:
When you feel the urge to scroll to “forget” a bad day, set a five-minute timer.
If you still feel the same after five minutes, put the phone in another room and engage in a physical activity like walking or stretching.
2. Optimize the “Selection Engine”
The Insight:
We reach for phones most often when negative affect is high.
The Action:
Create a “Digital First Aid Kit.”
Instead of opening social media, have a specific folder on your phone containing only one or two apps that require active participation, such as a journaling app or a guided breathing app.
3. The Social Intervention
The Insight:
The team found that expression via communication apps is more closely linked to “strong tie” support than social media.
The Action:
If you are feeling down, skip the social media post.
Send a direct message to one specific person you trust.
While the study shows this might not fix your mood immediately, it at least fosters the social closeness that digital scrolling lacks.
Citation
de Segovia Vicente, D., Van Gaeveren, K., Murphy, S., & Vanden Abeele, M. M. P. (2026). Tapping into feelings: An experience sampling study examining the dynamics of smartphone-based emotion regulation and negative affect. Emotion, 26(2), 326–339. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001584
