Investigating the Efficacy of Social Norms Messages to Reduce Smartphone Use Among Young Drivers

Young drivers are over-represented in road crashes associated with smartphone use. While it is widely acknowledged that norms influence young drivers’ smartphone use, there is a dearth of research investigating the effectiveness of social norms messages in this context. The current survey study (N = 136; 92F, 44M) was informed by the Social Norms Approach and utilised an experimental design to evaluate the relative effectiveness of three social norms messages targeting smartphone use among young drivers (Mage = 21.15, SD = 2.10). Participants were randomly assigned to a descriptive norm, subjective norm, or injunctive norm message group. Two-way ANOVAs were conducted including gender and licence type on the outcome measures of message acceptance (i.e., intention and message effectiveness), message rejection, and third person effect. Key results included (1) the subjective norm and injunctive norm messages were more effective than the descriptive norm message; (2) provisional licence holders were less likely to intend to use their smartphone while driving; and (3) young male drivers were more likely to report the third person effect for the injunctive norm message. These findings suggest that it may be worthwhile investigating the effectiveness of social norms messages for provisional licence holders and that different social norms messages may be required for young male and young female drivers. Specifically, subjective norm messages may be more effective for young male drivers and injunctive norm messages may be more effective for young female drivers. Broadly, social norms messages may provide an innovative addition to the current road safety countermeasures.