What is “problematic smartphone use,” and should we care?

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Written By Margonoe Tumindax

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Some teens stay on their phones late into the night

Images by Monkey Business/Shutterstock

Two recent studies have linked “problematic smartphone use” among teens to increased symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia. But is it a real problem? And how concerned, if at all, should we be?

What is meant by “problematic smartphone use”?

Researchers in both studies defined smartphone use as “problematic” if it causes someone to lose a sense of control over their use, to be preoccupied with their device to the detriment of meaningful activities, and to feel distressed when they can’t use it. Use becomes problematic when it interferes with your work, school, or relationships, she says. Jon Elhai at the University of Toledo in Ohio, who was not involved in either study.

“Problematic smartphone use” is not recognized as a diagnosable condition by authorities Health bodies such as the World Health Organization, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or the National Health Services in the UK.

Both studies found an association with certain conditions. This means that more research is needed to determine whether smartphone use can cause such health problems, he says. Nicholas Kicks from King’s College London, who took part in both studies.

What did the two studies find?

In one, Kalk and colleagues examined smartphone use among more than 650 adolescents, ages 16 to 18. They used the “Smartphone Addiction Scale,” which asks whether people experience blurred vision from using the device or feel impatient when they’re not holding it, for example. This yields a score of 10 to 60, with scores above 30 considered problematic.

Of the participants, 19 percent met the definition of problematic smartphone use. These individuals were twice as likely to report symptoms of moderate anxiety and are nearly three times more likely to report symptoms of moderate depression than their peers.

On average, those with problematic smartphone use spent 29 more minutes per day on Instagram and 22 more minutes on TikTok than those without problematic smartphone use. There were no links between problematic smartphone use and other apps, such as Snapchat or WhatsApp.

The team took into account factors that may influence the results, such as the amount of time participants reported spending on their smartphone every day. “We [also] has examined the impact of [general] “Screen time is related to the effects of problematic smartphone use, and while screen time has not been linked to anxiety or depression, problematic smartphone use has been,” Kalk says.

In the second study, a different team examined smartphone use among 69 adolescents aged 13 to 16, along with their prevalence of anxiety, depression and symptoms of insomnia. The researchers found that 44 percent of participants met the definition of problematic smartphone use, according to the same addiction scale.

When the team re-interviewed 62 participants a month later, they found that an increase in the severity of problematic smartphone use over that period was linked to more severe symptoms of anxiety, depression, and insomnia.

Should we worry about “problematic smartphone use”?

These studies are small and do not demonstrate that what is considered problematic smartphone use actually causes a decline in adolescent mental health, she says. Sunny Xun Liu at Stanford University.

Limestone and Ben Carter from King’s College London, who took part in both studies, acknowledges that young people who already exhibit these symptoms may use their smartphones more problematically than people without Mental health problems. “It could be a bidirectional link, but we can’t say yet whether it’s causal,” he says. Jay Olson at the University of Toronto in Canada.

For example, people with pre-existing symptoms of depression may rely more on their phones than those without the condition if they find comfort in communicating with loved ones, while those with insomnia may rely on their phones to combat boredom in the middle of the night.

In the second study, participants with signs of problematic smartphone use were five times more likely to say they wanted to reduce their device use than those without such use. The fact that these teens want to use their phones less makes the findings “both concerning and positive,” Carter says.

How can we reduce smartphone use if we are worried?

Surveys of participants in the first study found that 95 percent had tried to limit their smartphone use. They said the most effective strategies were occasionally putting the device on “do not disturb” mode, turning off notifications, and leaving it in another room before bed.

Rather than restricting teens’ phone use, parents and schools should talk to them about what aspects of smartphone use are beneficial or harmful to them, Kalk says. For example, some teens said they enjoyed staying in touch with loved ones on their smartphones, but they also said they could be distracting.

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