"Every push notification teenagers receive on their phones increases the likelihood of impulse gaming sessions by a quarter," reports The Daily Herald.
A study was carried out using a longitudinal questionnaire by researchers from the University of Manchester and the Digital Well-being Trust. Researchers found links between the frequency of push notifications and 'daily login' rewards, and the likelihood of excessive screen-time, adolescents pestering parents for in-game currency, and actual microtransaction spending. Time spent playing offline, non-monetized games was not linked to these compulsive behavioral patterns.
Teens who received more than 15 push notifications a day were 65% more likely to spend over 4 hours gaming daily compared to those who received 2 or fewer. Furthermore, those who played games offering 'daily streak' bonuses of virtual currency were 80% more likely to play every single day.
But it is important to note that we do not know whether these results mean notifications directly cause excessive gaming or if highly engaged gamers simply opt-in to more notifications. There are also limitations to longitudinal questionnaires. Though the researchers tried to get a broad sample representative of the population, there may still have been selection bias, as parents and teens who are highly active online were more likely to participate. The results are also reliant on participants accurately recalling their screen time.
Adapted from a digital health report (2022)
Explain how the behaviourist perspective may be applied to this article.
