Can a simple smartphone notification be enough to break our attention, even without us checking the screen? That is the question posed by a new cognitive psychology study, published in the journal Computers in Human Behavior, which provides precise numerical results on what these micro-interruptions actually do to our concentration.
An experiment built around the Stroop test
Led by a team from the Institute of Psychology at the University of Lausanne, the study brought together 180 participants divided into three groups of 60 people. Each had to complete a Stroop test, a classic exercise in cognitive psychology that consists of naming the color of a word while ignoring its meaning, a protocol particularly sensitive to lapses in attention. During the exercise, the researchers played different types of notifications: personal alerts, neutral notifications (“dummy”) and blurred visual signals, while tracking the participants' eye reactions.
Seven seconds of cognitive slowdown
Result: a single notification is enough to slow cognitive processing for about seven seconds, even when the participant does not touch their phone. The effect is stronger when the alert comes from a personal contact rather than a neutral source, which confirms that the brain reacts to the emotional load of the signal as much as to its mere presence. Study participants received on average more than 100 notifications per day.
Alert frequency matters more than screen time
Key point of the research: it is not so much the total time spent in front of the screen that predicts decreased concentration, but rather the number and frequency of interruptions experienced throughout the day. A user who receives few notifications, even if they spend a lot of continuous time on their phone, would thus be less penalized than a person exposed to frequent and fragmented alerts, including brief ones.
Concrete implications for work and study
- Turn off non-essential notifications during focused work periods rather than letting them accumulate.
- Group message checking into fixed time slots rather than reacting to every alert.
- Distinguish personal notifications, which are more disruptive, from automatic notifications that can be deferred without risk.
- Prefer silent mode or “do not disturb” during tasks requiring sustained attention, such as reading or problem-solving.
These results align with growing concerns around digital use, a topic closely followed in our section Geek & Multimédia. They are also directly relevant to the professional and educational worlds, where attention management becomes an issue in its own right, as shown by our articles on school, training and employment. More broadly, the question of well-being in relation to screens ties into the issues addressed in our section Forme & Bien-être.
Frequently asked questions
Should you disable all your notifications to concentrate?
The study does not recommend a total shutdown, but emphasizes the value of reducing the frequency of alerts received, particularly outside periods dedicated to communication.
Is screen time unimportant?
It remains relevant, but the researchers show that the number of intermittent interruptions weighs more heavily on attention capacity than the total duration of phone use.
Why do personal notifications disrupt more than others?
Because they activate a stronger emotional and social load than neutral alerts, which captures more of the brain's attentional resources, even briefly.
Sources
PsyPost — New psychology research reveals the cognitive cost of smartphone notifications
Menow.fr — Smartphone : une notification suffit à perturber l'attention pendant sept secondes
ScienceDirect — Computers in Human Behavior
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This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence. Editorial policy
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