Psychological Perspectives on Mobile Media: A Flyover Review

Abstract

Psychological perspectives have long been integral to research on mobile media and communication. In this piece, we complete a high-level review of psychology-centered work published in Mobile Media & Communication (MMC). Our “flyover review” affirms that MMC represents a key watering hole for exploring – and debating – the novel psychological implications of mobile technologies. We identify 57 articles across the 10-year history of MMC that are framed around established psychological concepts. Among this sub-sample of articles, we then extract four key themes: 1) psychological predictors of general usage, 2) psychological dynamics of online/offline contexts, 3) psychological well-being and alarmism, and 4) psychological dis/connection to mobile media. Following the review, we ponder the trajectory of psychological research on mobile media, including where it is published and how it can be integrated across fields given its discipline-bending nature. We argue the body of psychological research in MMC is highly phenomenological and correlational, resulting in theoretical fragmentation and limited evidence for mobile media effects. Nonetheless, we suggest Mobile Media & Communication is best positioned to sync the scattered literature on the psychology of mobile media.

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