Many studies have been conducted regarding technology’s effect on social interaction and face-toface
communication since the rise of cellphone and social media usage in the late 2000s. As Przybylski and
Weinstein of the University of Essex wrote in 2013, “Recent advancements in communication technology
have enabled billions of people to connect more easily with people great distances away, yet little has been
known about how the frequent presence of these devices in social settings influences face-to-face interactions”
(Przybylski & Weinstein, 2012, p. 1).