Predictors and/or Outcomes of Problematic Smartphone Use
The advancement in mobile technology has led to the introduction of smartphones which can be described as more comprehensive and offer additional uses. Besides making phone calls and messaging, the smartphones offer access to the internet, sites of social networking and other numerous mobile applications which did not exist before. According to the study by Stieglitz, and Brockmann, the advancement in mobile technology has impacted the various sectors of the economy such as healthcare, business practices, communication between different stakeholders and others. Since smartphones have numerous associated advantages, the users have increased significantly. The information from Statistica organization indicates that there are more than four billion smartphones in use globally. Regardless of the numerous advantages brought by smartphones, there are negative implications which continue to affect the users every day. Different scholars have tried to explore the consequences of using smartphones and especially among young adults. In this regard, the study by Seo, Park, Kim, and Park illustrate that there is a need for more research on the implications of smartphones to all the users irrespective of the age group. Therefore, this research will explore the subject to derive crucial facts that can offer a clear picture of the extent to which smartphones affect the users.
Aim of the study
This study is aimed at investigating the relationship between problematic smartphone use and personality traits of the users. Therefore, the dependent variable will be problematic smartphone use (PSU) and the independent variables will include different characteristics including extraversion, impulsiveness, and depression. The study will be based on the following three research questions:
1. What is the relationship between Problematic Smartphone Use and the extraversion personality trait?
2. What is the relationship between problematic smartphone use and the level of depression among users?
3. How is problematic smartphone use related to impulsiveness among the users?
The study will be based on the following hypotheses
Hypothesis 1: The is a statistically significant relationship between problematic smartphone use and extraversion personality trait
Hypothesis 2: Problematic smartphone use correlates positively with levels of depression among users.
Hypothesis 3: problematic smartphone use has a significant relationship with impulsiveness among users.
Literature Review
A substantial number of researches focusing on addiction to smartphone use have been carried out with findings illustrating a wide range of negative implications such as mental problems, diminishing personal interactions, accidents, and others. However, the study by Salehan and Negahban associated addiction to smartphones with positive factors such as high rates of social networking on social media (2633). The fact high rates of social networking has the consequence of increasing addiction to smartphones since the users interact virtually (Wu, Cheung, Ku " Hung 56). Wu et al. report that addiction is associated with the fact that frequent checking of the smartphone is accompanied with the reward to increased interaction.
However, most researchers have focused on the negative implications of problematic smartphone use. Billieux, Maurage, Lope-Fernandez, Kuss, and Griffiths report that problematic smartphone use has a positive correlation with anxiety levels among the users. Besides, the emotional distress often drive individuals to frequently check their smartphones as a corrective measure (Billieux, Maurage, Lope-Fernandez, Kuss, and Griffiths 160). The findings are emphasized by Hussain, Sheffield, and Griffiths who report an association between problematic smartphone use with issues such as narcissism, anxiety and personality factors (7). Hussain, Sheffield, and Griffiths note that problematic smartphone use has the effect of increasing narcissism traits and anxiety in individuals. Besides, it contributes to some personal issues such as addiction to gaming, gambling and sometimes drug abuse. Furthermore, Billieux, Maurage, Lope-Fernandez, Kuss, and Griffiths associate the problematic smartphone use to psychological disorder which they refer to as ‘iDisorder’ (157).
Even though the studies present resourceful information about problematic smartphone use, the frameworks applied in the research contributed to inconsistencies in the findings. Apparently, some of the studies illustrated a positive relationship between problematic smartphone use and social factors such as increased interactions while others made negative conclusions. In addition, most of the studies rely on self-rating types of questionnaires in the assessment of problematic smartphone use among young adults. However, there is limited literature on the subject of problematic smartphone use based on the reliable scientific method of sampling that limits the possibility of bias from the respondents. Therefore, this research offers a different perspective with emphasis on the sampling and framework of research that aims to derive reliable findings.
Significance of the Study
The study will make a significant contribution to the literature about the effects of smartphone use to all the users regardless of the age. The research will use scientific sampling to derive reliable findings of the relationship between problems resulting from smartphone use with other factors such as extraversion, impulsiveness, depression, and anxiety. Illustrating the relationship will offer the basis for future studies on the same or different factors. Therefore, the study will address the gaps that exist in previous research in associating problematic smartphone use with factors of depression, anxiety, psychological disorders, and personality traits.
The study will offer a practical guide to stakeholders in areas such as psychological counseling and behavioral addiction. The previous studies may have provided resourceful findings to help in addressing the problems associated with phone addiction or rather a problematic smartphone use. However, the inconsistency in results of the previous studies complicates the challenge by failing to offer reliable guidelines. Therefore, this study will provide the basis for more reliable future studies. Apparently, advancements in mobile technology are on a consistent positive trend. New features and mobile applications are being introduced for the smartphone users. This implies that the problematic smartphone use requires a deeper understanding of issues to create appropriate solutions.
Proposed research methodology
The study will focus on both young adults and adults who use smartphones. An online questionnaire will be sent to the public universities in Iowa with the aim of increasing the rate of responses. Besides, there will be follow-ups to the study even after the questionnaires have been filled. The study does not intend to offer monetary compensation for the individuals who participate in the survey. However, students will earn points for their research courses. Apart from the web questionnaires, qualitative interviews will be conducted with young adults randomly selected from institutions of higher learning in Iowa. The random sampling will be crucial for the study to ensure minimal or no cases of bias among the respondents. In addition, observation of the participants will be important in understanding the traits of users and describing the extent of problematic smartphone use.
In this regard, the study will apply the non-experimental design framework. The analysis of the responses will be conducted using SPSS and Excel software. The software will be crucial for the analysis of quantitative data that will be derived from the questionnaires. For instance, correlation analysis will be conducted to determine the relationship between problematic smartphone use and factors of depression, anxiety, and extraversion traits. However, a qualitative analysis of the interviews and observations will be conducted to derive the meaning behind the frequency and number of responses in relation to specific issues of problematic smartphone use.
The study will focus on ensuring the issues of gender balance and inclusion of individuals from different racial backgrounds. Besides, the study will seek the consent of the participants before they give their responses. This will enable the findings to be shared with the public. However, the study will ensure the confidentiality of the participants is maintained. Therefore, the participants will not be required to indicate their names on the information they share.
Participants, methodology (quantitative, qualitative, mixed), design framework (experimental, non-experimental), data collection methods, sampling method, ethical considerations
Scope and Problems
The study will demonstrate the importance of factors such as extraversion, anxiety, and impulsiveness in predicting problematic smartphone use. Since the existing literature continues to raise crucial questions about extraversion and problematic smartphone use, the study will apply the theoretical framework in investigating some of the major behaviors or extraversion.
However, the study is likely to experience some limitations which can affect the findings. Even though the study intends to use random sampling method, there is a likelihood of some participants sharing false personal information such as their anxiety when they spend many hours without using their phones. Besides, the online questionnaire is likely to pose significant challenges to the study since there is no personal interaction to convince individuals to give their responses. Furthermore, the non-experimental approach may not be effective in understanding the behavior of respondents in regards to problematic smartphone use. In addition, even though the study targets the young adults and adults, the fact that questionnaires will be shared in institutions of higher learning limits the range of participants. Therefore, the study may make generalizations of the population based on responses from students. Another limitation is the reliance on self-reporting which may contribute to errors in the study.
Works Cited
Billieux, J, Maurage, P, Lopez-Fernandez, O, Kuss, D, and Griffiths, M, D,. Can Disordered Mobile Phone Use be Considered a Behavioral Addiction? An update on Current Evidence and a Comprehensive Model for Future research. Current Addiction Reports, Vol. 2, No. 2 (2015), pp. 156-162
Hussain, Zaheer, Sheffield, David and Griffiths, Mark, D. An Investigation into Problematic Smartphone use: The Role of Narcissism, anxiety, and personality factors. Journal of Behavioral Addiction. Vol. 6, No. 3 (2017), pp. 1-9
Matar, Boumasleh and Jaalouk D. Depression, Anxiety, and Smartphone Addiction in University Students: A Cross-sectional study. PLoS One Vol 12, No. 8 (2017), pp.134-167
Mitchell, Lewis and Hussain, Zaheer. Predictors of Problematic Smartphone Use: An Examination of the Integrative Pathways Model and the Role of Age, Gender, Impulsiveness, Excessive Reassurance Seeking, Extraversion and Depression. Journal of Behavioral Science. Vol.8, No. 8 (2018)
Rozgonjuk, Dmitri, Hall, Brian, J. Levine, Jason, C. and Elhai, Jon. The Association Between Problematic Smartphone Use, Depression And Anxiety Symptom Severity, And Objectively Measured Smartphone Over One Week. Computers in Human Behavior. 87(2018), pp. 10-17
Salehan, Mohammad and Negahban, Arash. Social Networking on Smartphones: When Mobile Phones Become Addictive. Computers in Human Behavior. Vol. 29 No. 6 (2013), pp. 2632-2639
Stieglitz, Stefan and Brockmann, Tobias. Increasing Organizational Performance by Transforming inti a Mobile Enterprise. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/235632730_Increasing_Organizational_Performance_by_Transforming_into_a_Mobile_Enterprise Accessed 31 Oct 2018
Stieglitz, S. Brockmann, T. The Impact of Smartphones on E-participation; Proceedings of the 46th
Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences; Wailea, HI, USA. 7 – 10. 2013, pp 1734-1742.
Wu, Am, Cheung, Ku and Hung. Psychological Risk Factors of Addiction To Social Networking Sites Among Chinese Smartphone Users. Journal of Behavioral Addiction. Vol2 No. 3 (2013), pp 160-189
