Short, Animated Storytelling (SAS) Videos to Reduce Smartphone Addiction in the US (SAS)

March 31, 2026 updated by: Maya Adam, Stanford University

Short, Animated Storytelling Videos to Reduce Smartphone Addiction in the US: Protocol for an Online, Randomized Controlled Trial

This study will test the effect of exposure to short, animated storytelling videos on participants' perceived risk of smartphone overuse immediately after exposure, two weeks later and four weeks later.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

6000

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • California
      • Stanford, California, United States, 94305
        • Stanford University

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • English Speaking
  • Own a Smartphone
  • Live in the US

Exclusion Criteria:

  • None

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Triple

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Informational Control
Participants will read a fact sheet containing written information and statistics about smartphone usage.
Behavioral: Informational Control
A short fact sheet presenting written information and statistics about smartphone usage.
No Intervention: Do-nothing control
Participants will only complete the surveys. Participants do not receive any intervention or information about digital addiction.
Experimental: Animated videos
Participants will watch two short, animated storytelling videos about digital addiction.
Behavioral: Short animated videos
The short animated videos (approximately 2 minutes each) draw attention to the dangers of smartphone addiction.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Smartphone Addiction Scale (SmAS) score
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention
SmAS is a short 10 item validated scale measuring smartphone addiction. The minimum value is 10 and the maximum value is 60 for this scale.
Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention
Mobile Phone Attachment Scale - Anxious Attachment Sub Scale (MPAS-AA)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediate post-intervention (up to 24 hours), 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention
The MPAS Anxious Attachment subscale comprises 7 items rated 1 (not at all true) to 5 (extremely true). Subscale scores were computed as the mean of the 7 items (range 1-5), with higher scores indicating greater anxious attachment to one's mobile phone. The MPAS-AA has demonstrated good internal consistency (α=.87) and external validity.
Baseline, immediate post-intervention (up to 24 hours), 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Mobile Phone Attachment Scale - Addiction Sub Scale (MPAS_Addiction)
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention
Mobile phone addiction will be assessed with the MPAS Addiction subscale (6 items). Items are rated on a 5-point scale from 1 = not at all true to 5 = extremely true; responses are averaged to create a subscale score (range 1-5), with higher scores indicating greater addictive/problematic mobile phone use.
Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention
Perceived Danger of Smartphone Overuse measured using a visual analogue scale (VAS)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately post intervention exposure (up to 24 hours), 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure
Perceived danger of smartphone overuse will be assessed with a single-item 10-point slider (visual analogue-type scale) ranging from 0 = not at all dangerous to 10 = extremely dangerous. Higher scores indicate greater perceived danger.
Baseline, immediately post intervention exposure (up to 24 hours), 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure
Self-reported daily smartphone use (past 2 weeks)
Time Frame: Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure
Self-reported daily smartphone use will be assessed via a single self-report item asking participants: 'On average, how many hours per day did you use your phone over the past two weeks?' Responses are recorded in 6 ordered categories: <1 h, 1-2 h, 2-4 h, 4-6 h, 6-8 h, >8 h, with higher categories indicating greater daily use.
Baseline, 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure
Self-perceived smartphone addiction (single item; Olsen)
Time Frame: Baseline, immediately post intervention exposure (up to 24 hours) 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure
Self-perceived smartphone addiction will be assessed using Olsen's single-item smartphone addiction measure, asking agreement with the statement 'I am addicted to my smartphone' on a 6-point Likert scale from Strongly disagree (1) to Strongly agree (6). Higher scores indicate greater self-perceived smartphone addiction.
Baseline, immediately post intervention exposure (up to 24 hours) 2 weeks and 4 weeks post intervention exposure

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Stanford University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Maya U Adam, MD, Stanford University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

February 9, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

March 26, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 6, 2025

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 19, 2025

First Posted (Actual)

May 20, 2025

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 2, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 31, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 80171

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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