The association between social anxiety and mobile phone addiction: A three-level meta-analysis

Ran, Guangming; Li, Jun; Zhang, Qi; Niu, Xiang

doi:10.1016/j.chb.2022.107198

Cited by 74 publications

(50 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…Yet, some lament their negative effects on face-to-face interactions, and indeed, there is evidence for phones interrupting and reducing the quality and enjoyment of in-person interactions [1,2]. While in the general population, phone use has been found to have negative implications for social interactions, existing literature has indicated a strong link between social anxiety and phone use with increased social anxiety having a strong, positive correlation with mobile phone addiction [3,4]. Increased engagement with phones limits social interactions and increases maladaptive behaviours [5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Not only has anxiety been linked to the forms of phone communication people prefer, but it has also been linked to increased phone use [12], problematic phone use [13], and mobile phone addiction [3,14]. For example, in a study conducted early in the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found that adolescents who were more anxious tended to engage in more problematic phone use [15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Existing research also reports a link between increased phone use and depression in American adolescents [17]; people suffering from depression often exhibit symptoms of social anxiety [18]. A recent meta-analysis, combining 254 studies which measured social anxiety and phone addiction found a moderate, positive correlation (r = :31) between these variables [3]. Therefore, there is strong evidence for the link between social anxiety and phone use; however, research looking to identify the variables that may mediate and therefore help explain this link is still in its infancy.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous literature has highlighted a link between social anxiety and phone usage [3], where mobile phones may be used to reduce stress arising from ambiguous social interactions; however, increased phone dependency can lead to psychological distress [20]. Furthermore, there is evidence for a bidirectional association between access to mobile phones and anxiety where not having one's phone has been linked to increased anxiety [16], and active use of a phone will lead to decreased anxiety [27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Phoning It in: Social Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Anxiety Reduction Motivations Predict Phone Use in Social Situations

Brown

Medcalf-Bell

2022

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

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Based on meta-analysis, a strong link between social anxiety and phone use has been established in the literature, but the underlying mechanisms of why social anxiety might cause people to use their phones are poorly understood. Intolerance of uncertainty is a transdiagnostic factor of many anxiety disorders and may help explain why socially anxious people tend to use their mobile phones as a tool to cope with, or distract from, inherently ambiguous social interactions. This nonexperimental, correlational study had four core aims: to examine whether increases in social anxiety would relate to (1) increased phone usage during social interactions in groups or (2) phone dependency; to examine whether intolerance of uncertainty and motivation of phone use mediated either of these relationships. To test these models, an opportunity sample of 252 participants completed a series of online questionnaires containing measures of social anxiety, intolerance of uncertainty, and phone usage. Correlational analysis of results showed increased phone dependency and phone use in social groups for people with high social anxiety. Serial mediation analysis showed that people who were more socially anxious also reported higher levels of intolerance of uncertainty, greater motives to use phones to reduce anxiety, and higher phone use. We discuss these results with specific reference to compensatory internet use theory. In sum, it appears that for people with social anxiety, phone use in social situations tends to be motivated by reducing anxiety.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Phoning It in: Social Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Anxiety Reduction Motivations Predict Phone Use in Social Situations

Brown

Medcalf-Bell

2022

Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies

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“…Introverted individuals may feel more comfortable interacting with others online as they can carefully consider how to respond to others instead of feeling nervous and distressed in offline social interactions. In other words, the lack of visual cues and the perceived anonymity of the internet environment may help introverted or socially anxious individuals to overcome their inhibitions and to get into contact with others [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. As such, rich-get-richer and social compensation are two opposing hypotheses that may support different predictions of how extraversion may relate to internet addiction.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rich Get Richer: Extraversion Statistically Predicts Reduced Internet Addiction through Less Online Anonymity Preference and Extraversion Compensation

Zhang

Han

et al. 2022

Behavioral Sciences

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Internet addiction may arise from multiple factors and personality tendencies have been previously implicated. Prior studies have found that extraversion may be a protective factor mitigating against internet addiction, yielding a “rich-get-richer” effect. However, few studies have explored how extraversion may influence internet addiction from the perspective of online-offline integration. Drawing on a sample of 428 college students, the current study examined a serial mediation model exploring the underlying mechanisms of how extraversion may statistically predict internet addiction through online-offline integration and antecedent factors. The serial mediation model analyses indicated that extraverted internet users exhibited a weaker preference for online anonymity and less online extraversion compensation, thus formulating a higher level of online-offline integration than introverted individuals, which, in turn, appeared to reduce the risk of internet addiction. In contrast, with regard to specific components of online-offline integration, introverted internet users preferred online anonymity, which reduced their relationship integration and increased their likelihood of internet addiction; similarly, the introverted individuals were also more likely to exhibit an extraversion compensation effect. That is, they were more extraverted on the internet than in general; hence, they had a lower level of self-identity integration, resulting in a greater likelihood of experiencing internet addiction. These results highlight the importance of online-offline integration that may account for personality variations in social and psychological outcomes related to internet use, and suggest a role for online anonymity preference and extraversion compensation in influencing specific components of integration.

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The association between social support and prosocial behavior: A three‐level meta‐analysis

Wang,

Ran,

Zhang

et al. 2024

PsyCh Journal

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Numerous studies have examined the relationship between social support and prosocial behavior and have concluded that social support is an important factor in generating prosocial behavior. However, different studies have produced different conclusions, and the moderating effect on the relationship is not entirely clear. The current study uses a three‐level meta‐analysis method to clarify the relationship between social support and prosocial behavior, and explores the moderating variables that affect the relationship between the two variables. Through a systematic literature search, a total of 92 studies, 418 effect sizes, and 74,378 participants were obtained. The main effects test found a significant positive correlation between social support and prosocial behavior. Tests of the moderating effects indicated that the relationship between social support and prosocial behavior was moderated by year of publication, source of social support, measurement of social support and measurement of prosocial behavior. In summary, social support plays an important role in prosocial behavior, and exploring their relationship is beneficial to families, schools and society in guiding individuals' prosocial behavior.

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The association between social anxiety and mobile phone addiction: A three-level meta-analysis

Cited by 74 publications

References 82 publications

Phoning It in: Social Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Anxiety Reduction Motivations Predict Phone Use in Social Situations

Phoning It in: Social Anxiety, Intolerance of Uncertainty, and Anxiety Reduction Motivations Predict Phone Use in Social Situations

Rich Get Richer: Extraversion Statistically Predicts Reduced Internet Addiction through Less Online Anonymity Preference and Extraversion Compensation

The association between social support and prosocial behavior: A three‐level meta‐analysis

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