TY - JOUR
T1 - Everyone does it—differently: A window into emerging adults’ smartphone use
AU - Griffioen, Nastasia
AU - Scholten, Hanneke
AU - Lichtwarck-Aschoff, Anna
AU - Van Rooij, Marieke
AU - Granic, Isabela
N1 - Funding Information:
We would like to thank student-assistants Evi Kelders, Jolein Gouverne, Puck van den Berk, Zoë Werner, Ivet van Wezel, Seyma Yildirim, Inez Spoormakers, Jessica Gade, and Maaike Verhoef for their assistance in conducting the study. We furthermore thank student-assistants Raoul Killaars, Hannah Peters, Judith van Gijssel, Niki van Zon, and Raymond Voormanns for their assistance in processing the data. This project has received funding from the European Research Council granted to Isabela Granic under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (Grant agreement no. 683262).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s).
PY - 2021/7/20
Y1 - 2021/7/20
N2 - Concerns regarding smartphones’ and social media’s impact on youth remain high amidst a growing realization that current research is not designed to confirm (or refute) such concerns. This study aims to answer fundamental questions regarding youths’ use of smartphones, by implementing a novel user-centric research method. The smartphone use of 114 emerging adults was recorded, followed by in-depth interviews that incorporated the recording and in-app information to help participants recall their behaviours, motivations, and feelings. Results indicate that smartphone use is indeed ubiquitous; 88 out of 114 participants started using their smartphone as soon as they were left alone. However, the findings of this study also demonstrate great diversity in smartphone use, in e.g. social media platforms used and motivations for using different apps. These results illustrate that it no longer seems sensible to refer to “screen time” as if it represents a homogeneous phenomenon across youth. Additionally, preliminary indications have been found of relationships between individual differences in mental health indices and variations in smartphone use. The current study provides new insights into youths’ smartphone use and its relationship with wellbeing.
AB - Concerns regarding smartphones’ and social media’s impact on youth remain high amidst a growing realization that current research is not designed to confirm (or refute) such concerns. This study aims to answer fundamental questions regarding youths’ use of smartphones, by implementing a novel user-centric research method. The smartphone use of 114 emerging adults was recorded, followed by in-depth interviews that incorporated the recording and in-app information to help participants recall their behaviours, motivations, and feelings. Results indicate that smartphone use is indeed ubiquitous; 88 out of 114 participants started using their smartphone as soon as they were left alone. However, the findings of this study also demonstrate great diversity in smartphone use, in e.g. social media platforms used and motivations for using different apps. These results illustrate that it no longer seems sensible to refer to “screen time” as if it represents a homogeneous phenomenon across youth. Additionally, preliminary indications have been found of relationships between individual differences in mental health indices and variations in smartphone use. The current study provides new insights into youths’ smartphone use and its relationship with wellbeing.
U2 - 10.1057/s41599-021-00863-1
DO - 10.1057/s41599-021-00863-1
M3 - Article
SN - 2662-9992
VL - 8
JO - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
JF - Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
M1 - 177
ER -