Dr. Howard Smith Oncall

Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/zw1NDorVPvA News has a greater impact where you view it on a larger screen versus on your smartphone.  Communication research at the University of Michigan and Texas A&M University measured the responses of participants viewing news stories on a 13 inch laptop and on a 5 inch phone. Using physiologic measurements of attention including heart rate variability and skin conductance measurements, the video presented on the larger screen was more compelling and engaging.  The data did not directly show whether or not the smaller screen reduced the subjects’ comprehension of the stories but that is the implication. Using your cellphone to inform yourself has both pros and cons.  The phone provides high availability, but you might just have to force yourself to pay more attention to the teeny-tiny screen. Johanna Dunaway, Stuart Soroka. Smartphone-size screens constrain cognitive access to video news stories. Information, Communication & Society, 2019; 1 DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2019.