The Psychology of Smartphone: The Development of the Smartphone Impact Scale (SIS)

Abstract

Smartphones are changing lives in a number of ways. However, the psychological literature has primarily focused on smartphone overuse, neglecting the impacts that are not strictly related to problematic use. The present research was aimed to develop a comprehensive self-report scale that accounts for the cognitive, affective, social, and behavioral impacts of smartphones in everyday life—the Smartphone Impact Scale (SIS). Study 1 ( N = 407) yielded a preliminary version of the scale, which was refined in Study 2 ( N = 601). The SIS is a 26-item scale that measures seven dimensions of smartphone impact. Results revealed meaningful associations between its subscales, psychosocial constructs, and daily usage of smartphones and apps. The SIS broadens the view of human–smartphone interaction by extending the concept of problematic smartphone use to further dimensions (e.g., emotion regulation) and introducing a proper measurement of underinvestigated smartphone impacts (e.g., tasks support). The implications of each SIS subscale are discussed.

Development and validation of a Smartphone Impact Scale among healthcare professionals

“…Smartphone users experience physical as well as professional harmful consequences as a result of its excessive use. The second factor of this study was consistent with some elements and items of a study by Pancani and Preti 39 on measures concerning awareness of the negative impacts of smartphones. In this context, several previous descriptive studies have noted the negative impacts of smartphones in healthcare facilities.…”

“…The second factor includes two diverse perspectives: first is ‘the impact of smartphone use on the personal life of healthcare professionals’, while the second is ‘the impact of smartphone use on the professional life of healthcare professionals’. Compared with existing measures, 38 , 39 the second factor of SIS measures the negative impacts of smartphone use on healthcare professionals from a different perspective. It addresses other perceptions of smartphone use that are not derived from existing measures.…”

Mind over Matter: Testing the Efficacy of an Online Randomized Controlled Trial to Reduce Distraction from Smartphone Use

“…Further research is required to assess these cognitive and emotive dimensions of smartphone distraction and its effects on engagement in line with current trends [ 205 ]. However, it has been proposed that the construct of distraction extends beyond the debate on smartphone addiction by considering the role of the smartphone in coping with negative emotions and addressing preference for online vs. offline communications [ 206 ].…”

Instagram use frequency is associated with problematic smartphone use, but not with depression and anxiety symptom severity

“…Similarly to some aforementioned relations between SM and psychological well-being variables, problematic smartphone use (PSU) has been associated with psychopathology, such as depression and anxiety (Elhai et al, 2017; Hussain et al, 2017; Rozgonjuk, Levine, Hall, & Elhai, 2018), as well as transdiagnostic factors like rumination (Elhai et al, 2018), dysfunctional emotion regulation (Pancani et al, 2019; Rozgonjuk & Elhai, 2019), boredom proneness (Wolniewicz et al, 2019), and fear of missing out (Servidio, 2019). It should be noted, however, that most of these studies have used self-reports rather than objectively measured behavioral data.…”