Gender-Based Differences and Associated Factors Surrounding Excessive Smartphone Use Among Adolescents: Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background Excessive smartphone use is a new and debated phenomenon frequently mentioned in the context of behavioral addiction, showing both shared and distinct traits when compared to pathological gaming and gambling. Objective The aim of this study is to describe excessive smartphone use and associated factors among adolescents, focusing on comparisons between boys and girls. Methods This study was based on data collected through a large-scale public health survey distributed in 2016 to pupils in the 9th grade of primary school and those in the 2nd grade of secondary school. Bayesian binomial regression models, with weakly informative priors, were used to examine whether the frequency of associated factors differed between those who reported excessive smartphone use and those who did not. Results The overall response rate was 77% (9143/11,868) among 9th grade pupils and 73.4% (7949/10,832) among 2nd grade pupils, resulting in a total of 17,092 responses. Based on the estimated median absolute percentage differences, along with associated odds ratios, we found that excessive smartphone use was associated with the use of cigarettes, alcohol, and other substances. The reporting of anxiety and worry along with feeling low more than once a week consistently increased the odds of excessive smartphone use among girls, whereas anxiety and worry elevated the odds of excessive smartphone use among boys. The reporting of less than 7 hours of sleep per night was associated with excessive smartphone use in all 4 study groups. Conclusions The results varied across gender and grade in terms of robustness and the size of estimated difference. However, excessive smartphone use was associated with a higher frequency of multiple suspected associated factors, including ever having tried smoking, alcohol, or other substances; poor sleep; and often feeling low and feeling anxious. This study sheds light on some features and distinctions of a potentially problematic behavior among adolescents.

The Influence of Sociodemographic Factors on Mobile Device Use among Young Children in Putrajaya, Malaysia

“…The parent’s educational level significantly contributes to problematic mobile device use as reported in [ 53 , 58 , 61 , 62 ]. Parents with lower educational levels tend to allow their children to spend extra time on a mobile device compared to parents with higher educational levels [ 22 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 ]. Parents with higher educational levels are more aware and tend to guide their children on the appropriate period of use [ 63 , 66 ] and suitable apps and websites to access [ 64 , 67 ].…”

“…Interpersonal skills involve children’s communication with others, which should involve eye communication, body position and movements, facial gestures and expressions, voice intonation, language, and listener interaction [ 21 ]. Scholars have emphasized the negative impact of mobile devices on children’s interpersonal skills [ 22 ] as they lack opportunities to socialize with peers and family. Consequently, children have difficulty conveying the information that is in their minds.…”

Changes in physical and mental health in Swedish schoolchildren in the digital age

“…A study showed that excessive use of smartphones had an association with inadequate sleep, defined as less than 7 h, in Swedish students aged 15/16 years. Furthermore, the study demonstrated a higher frequency of risk and feelings of depression and anxiety 10 . A French study reported that among teenagers, access to social media, especially access to a mobile phone in the bedroom, was associated with a reduced quantity of sleep during the school week.…”

“…Furthermore, the study demonstrated a higher frequency of risk and feelings of depression and anxiety. 10 A French study reported that among teenagers, access to social media, especially access to a mobile phone in the bedroom, was associated with a reduced quantity of sleep during the school week. In addition, the study showed negative effects on daily functioning and mood, effects which increase with age.…”

Real-world adolescent smartphone use is associated with improvements in mood: An ecological momentary assessment study

“…Third, future work should explore the possibility that the associations observed in this study might differ as a factor of stable individual differences that were not modeled in our analyses. For example, research has shown that adolescent girls have different motivations for smartphone use than adolescent boys [ 56 ], and adolescents’ propensity to develop harmful or problematic smartphone use is related to socioeconomic status, parental relationships, and other factors [ 41 ]. Further, it known that media effects generally tend to vary as a factor of individual differences [ 57 ] By exploring the ways that moment-to-moment effects of smartphone use differ across different demographic groups, future studies may uncover reasons that some adolescents develop problematic patterns of smartphone use while others do not.…”