Smartphone Usage Management System for Preventing Problematic Smartphone Use: Development and Evaluation Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND As the use of smartphones increases, mental health problems may be caused by problematic smartphone use. To prevent these problems, we need a method of self-management and intervention based on smartphone usage evaluation. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to develop the MindsCare application, featuring various interventions such as prevention and diagnosis of problematic smartphone use and communication between users and clinicians and to evaluate the usability and effectiveness of this system. METHODS We developed the application MindsCare that stores and manages smartphone usage data. Based on the usage data stored in the app, the user can manage their own smartphone use. The app can help prevent problematic smartphone use with personalized interventions. We recruited 342 Korean participants over the age of 20 and asked them to use MindsCare for 13 weeks. In addition, to evaluate the effectiveness of the MindsCare system, a study was conducted to evaluate the changes in average smartphone usage time and the usability of the app. We designed a usability evaluation survey questionnaire based on the Technology Acceptance Model and conducted factor and reliability analyses on the questionnaire responses. System usability was measured using three factors: behavioral intention, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. At the 8th week of the study, participants were asked to respond to a survey on the usability of MindsCare. RESULTS When the MindsCare app usage experiment data were analyzed, the average smartphone usage time significantly decreased at the 8th week compared to the baseline (t =3.47, p =.001). The usability evaluations scores were generally high (average overall of 3.61 on a 5-point Likert scale; 3.40 for behavioral intention; 3.64 for performance expectancy; and 3.80 for effort expectancy). CONCLUSIONS MindsCare, developed in this study, is a smartphone usage management application that stores usage data stably and can help prevent problematic smartphone use through customized intervention and evaluation. We confirmed the smartphone usage time reduction effect and proved that MindsCare satisfies users because it received a high overall usability evaluation.