The invisible addiction: Cell-phone activities and addiction among male and female college students
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The primary objective of the present study was to investigate which cell-phone activities are associated with cell-phone addiction. No research to date has studied the full-range of cell-phone activities, and their relationship to cell-phone addiction, across male and female cell-phone users. METHODS: College undergraduates (N = 164) participated in an online survey. Participants completed the questionnaire as part of their class requirements. The questionnaire took 10 and 15 minutes to complete and contained a measure of cell-phone addiction and questions that asked how much time participants spent daily on 24 cell-phone activities. RESULTS: Findings revealed cell-phone activities that are associated significantly with cell-phone addiction (e.g., Instagram, Pinterest), as well as activities that one might logically assume would be associated with this form of addiction but are not (e.g., Internet use and Gaming). Cell-phone activities that drive cell-phone addiction (CPA) were found to vary considerably across male and female cell-phone users. Although a strong social component drove CPA for both males and females, the specific activities associated with CPA differed markedly. CONCLUSIONS: CPA amongst the total sample is largely driven by a desire to connect socially. The activities found to be associated with CPA, however, differed across the sexes. As the functionality of cell-phones continues to expand, addiction to this seemingly indispensable piece of technology becomes an increasingly realistic possibility. Future research must identify the activities that push cell-phone use beyond its “tipping point” where it crosses the line from a helpful tool to one that undermines our personal well-being and that of others.
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Patterns of smartphone use are associated with NMP and SA.
“Patterns of smartphone use were found to be associated with NMP and SA”
From Personal Profiles, Family Environment, Patterns of Smartphone Use, Nomophobia, and Smartphone Addiction across Low, Average, and High Perceived Academic Performance Levels among High School Students in the Philippines (2021) · cites this paper as [43]
The Assessment of causal relationship paths section reports that several cell-phone activities were significantly associated with cell-phone addiction, supporting the SA part if SA means smartphone addiction. The paper does not report an association with NMP (nomophobia); a search for nomophobia and NMP found no passage addressing it. Page numbers are unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredPSU is commonly defined as a poorly controlled occupation with the smartphone or usage behavior marked by a loss of control.
“PSU is commonly defined as a poorly controlled occupation with the smartphone or usage behavior marked by a loss of control (Chang et al., 2019;Jeong, Kim, Yum, & Hwang, 2016;Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014).”
From Antecedents and consequences of problematic smartphone use: A systematic literature review of an emerging research area (2021) · cites this paper as Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014
The cell phone offers activities that can lead to problematic use.
“From this perspective, the cell phone offers activities that can lead to problematic use (3, 27).”
From Cell-phone addiction: a review (2016) · cites this paper as [27]
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- Authors
- Roberts, J., Yaya, L., & Manolis, C.
- Affiliations
- Baylor University (US)
- Universitat Internacional de Catalunya (ES)
- Xavier University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Roberts, James
- ORCID
- Yaya, Luc
- Venue
- Journal of Behavioral Addictions
- Publisher
- Akademiai Kiado Zrt.
- Published
- 2014-12
- Volume
- 3
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 254-265
- ISSN
- 2062-5871 (ISSN-L)
- 2063-5303
- PMC
- PMC4291831
- OpenAlex
- W1979435732
- Cited by
- 711
- References
- 15
- Citations by year
- 2026: 20 · 2025: 46 · 2024: 59 · 2023: 59 · 2022: 71 · 2021: 71 · 2020: 140 · 2019: 71 · 2018: 77 · 2017: 41 · 2016: 38 · 2015: 16 · 2014: 2
- FWCI
- 105.01
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of Behavioral Addictions (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Repository of the Academy's Library (Library of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences) (acceptedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
- Social Sciences › Education › Child Development and Digital Technology
- Keywords
- smartphone addiction, smartphone use, university students, gender differences, social media use, Instagram, Pinterest, internet use, gaming, social connectedness, technology addiction
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Social Behavior, Students, Universities, Behavior, Addictive, Cell Phone, Young Adult
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