Programa de recompensas para reducir el uso del teléfono móvil entre jóvenes andaluces

Gamification, that is, a system of rewards, such as permissions to extend departure times or develop sports, creative, and social activities in person, and group challenges like ‘phone-free days’, along with family talks and awareness campaigns in educational centers are some of the recommendations of the citizen science project ‘Disconnect to Connect: promoting an active and healthy lifestyle among young Andalusians’.

Scientists and citizens participating in this project have compiled a report with practical strategies to reduce the use of mobile phones among young Andalusians. Thus, these actions focus on five lines. Firstly, a system of incentives with rewards (not necessarily material), such as permissions to carry out desired activities or recognitions.

The second area focuses on promoting alternative actions such as workshops, sports, or recreational activities in person, while the third strategy addresses educational and awareness interventions, through programs that educate about the effects of excessive mobile phone use and promote digital self-care and peer-to-peer talks.

Family support and communication is another recommendation. In this sense, it is proposed to strengthen dialogue between parents and children without taking punitive stances, in addition to establishing agreed-upon rules and the real example of adults.

Finally, researchers advocate for a supervised use of parental control apps and timers, always explained and agreed upon, and monitoring tools shared between parents and children that allow reflection on digital habits.

Real contexts

Thus, based on these indications, the implementation of the proposals will be addressed and their viability and effectiveness will be evaluated in real contexts, such as educational centers, to assess their impact on reducing mobile phone usage time and improving healthy habits. «Educational centers have shown interest in implementing pilot experiences based on this work in the long term,» says Borja Sañudo, researcher at the University of Seville and study leader.

Thus, the participatory methodology of this citizen science project has allowed the generation of proposals aligned with the interests and needs of the citizens, favoring greater involvement and commitment to adopting healthier lifestyles.

Disconnect to Connect

This initiative, driven with the aim of promoting conscious digital disconnection and fostering more beneficial habits among the youth of Andalusia, has been led by a research team from the universities of Seville, Jaén, and Cádiz, and has involved more than 250 young people.

The study is part of the ‘Andalucía + citizen science’ program, promoted by the Ministry of University, Research, and Innovation, co-financed by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) and coordinated by the Descubre Foundation and the Pablo de Olavide University (UPO). It aims to promote the use of this participatory scientific approach among different agents. Thus, it involves the active involvement of a community to respond to a close problem with actions based on knowledge, in this case, the reduction of mobile phone use among young Andalusians.

Awareness

As the research team explains, they started with the hypothesis that the time young people spend on their mobile phones exceeds international recommendations, which point to two hours a day. «Our goal was, on the one hand, to verify this premise and, on the other hand, to design practical solutions to address addiction situations,» explains Borja Sañudo.

The head of this study adds that excessive use of digital devices can lead to issues related to lower academic performance, negative changes in sleep patterns, increased impulsivity, hostility, domestic violence, and an increase in negative emotions, such as depressive disorders.

To define proposals that address this issue, experts and citizens developed the project in three phases, documenting their progress on a blog of the Andalusia Citizen Science Office. During the first phase, which ran from May to September last year, participants completed an initial questionnaire from which a representative database was created on mobile phone usage time, sleep quality, level of physical activity, and sedentary habits. The data served as a starting point for later comparison with the results obtained at the end of the project, to evaluate the changes and the impact of the interventions carried out.

Data collected during this stage revealed that secondary, high school, and university students use their mobile phones an average of three hours and 13 minutes on weekdays, a figure that rises to four hours and 45 minutes on Saturdays and Sundays. Usage is mainly concentrated on messaging and social media apps like WhatsApp, Instagram, and TikTok. «We have found that young people have a social use of the phone focused on staying in touch with their environment and participating in digital group dynamics, which reinforces their need for belonging but also increases their dependence on the device,» says Sañudo.

Participatory Science

As this researcher explained at the Citizen Science Day, workshops, activities, and ‘Science Cafés’ were also carried out with families and education professionals to raise awareness about the risks of intensive mobile phone use among young people.

The second phase, which ran from September 2024 to April this year, aimed to design alternatives in a participatory manner to excessive device use. Young people, parents, mothers, and teachers proposed specific measures such as reward systems or in-person leisure alternatives to promote a more balanced lifestyle.

Implementation of Proposals

In the final phase, these proposals will be implemented in real contexts to evaluate their impact on reducing mobile phone usage time and improving habits.

This project is co-financed by the Ministry of University, Research, and Innovation, responsible for research and innovation policies in Andalusia, the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology, the Ibercivis Foundation, precursor of the Citizen Science Observatory in Spain, the Andalusian Academy Institute, the Ministry of Educational Development and Vocational Training, the Andalusian Society for the Dissemination of Science, and ONCE Andalusia.