Problematic Smartphone Use during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Its Association with Pandemic-Related and Generalized Beliefs

Abstract

Smartphone technologies have played a crucial role in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the increased use of smartphones during the pandemic period may expose the general public to a higher risk of problematic smartphone use (PSU). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of PSU among Chinese community adults and adopted a social-cognitive theory and social axiom framework to evaluate the effects of beliefs on PSU. A Chinese adult sample (N = 616) was obtained through probability sampling via a telephone survey from Macao, China and included 591 smartphone users’ data (39.4% men) for formal analysis. The prevalence of PSU was 43.3% in the overall sample, with 41.9% in women, and 45.5% in men. Two types of beliefs derived from the social-cognitive theory, pandemic-related self-efficacy and government efficacy, both showed significant and negative correlations with PSU (r = −0.13 and −0.10, p < 0.05). As for the two beliefs from the social axiom framework, reward for application was negatively correlated with PSU (r = −0.10, p < 0.05), whereas social cynicism was positively associated with PSU (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Among those four beliefs, social cynicism exerted the most substantial effect on PSU when controlling for demographics. Our findings enriched the understanding of PSU during the pandemic and provided empirical direction regarding cognition-based intervention strategies for reducing PSU.

Relationship of Problematic Smartphone Use, Sleep Quality, and Daytime Fatigue Among Quarantined Medical Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…We obtained an unoptimistic incidence of PSU (49.70%) among quarantined medical students, which was higher than that of Chinese senior students (16.4%) from an online survey conducted on February 2020 ( 8 ). Consistent with our results, a cross-sectional study revealed a PSU prevalence of 59.42% in medical students from two provinces in China ( 42 ), and in another study the prevalence was 43.3% among Chinese adults ( 43 ). According to the I-PACE model and CIUT, the high prevalence of PSU among quarantined medical students was related to various factors ( 44 ).…”

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Problematic Smartphone Use During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Bangladeshi Study

“…10 The high rate of smartphone addiction among the Bangladeshi students during the COVID-19 pandemic is concerning, as the prior studies have reported substantial consequences related to excessive smartphone use among students. [26][27][28] However, some of the reasons can explain such a higher PSU prevalence rate in the present study. For example, the participants who mandatorily attend online schooling might be responsible, as the previous study reported.…”

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“…We obtained an unoptimistic incidence of PSU (49.70%) among quarantined medical students, which was higher than that of Chinese senior students (16.4%) from an online survey conducted on February 2020 (8). Consistent with our results, a crosssectional study revealed a PSU prevalence of 59.42% in medical students from two provinces in China (42), and in another study the prevalence was 43.3% among Chinese adults (43). According to the I-PACE model and CIUT, the high prevalence of PSU among quarantined medical students was related to various factors (44).…”