EXAMINING THE RELATION BETWEEN OBJECTIVE SMARTPHONE USE PATTERNS AND MENTAL HEALTH OUTCOMES AMONG ADOLESCENTS

Abstract

Background: With the growing rates of smartphone users globally, there are increasing concerns about the adverse effects of excessive smartphone use, especially among adolescents’ mental health. The adolescent stage represents a challenging phase, with changes in hormones, behaviour and emotions. Adolescent use of smartphones is concerning as it coincides with a critical period in human development. Aims: The current study aimed to distinguish adolescent smartphone users with normal versus high usage patterns and examined the relation between objective smartphone use and mental health outcomes. Methods: A total of 171 adolescents (aged 13 to 18 years) provided their smartphone use patterns that were tracked objectively using a phone monitoring application. They also completed a series of questionnaires to measure mental health-related outcomes on depression, anxiety, stress, internalising and externalising behavioural problems, and daytime sleepiness. Results: Our findings revealed significant distinctions between high smartphone users (n = 43) versus normal smartphone users (n = 128). Nevertheless, there were no significant relations between heavy smartphone consumption and poor mental health outcomes. Conclusion: The preliminary findings stand in contrast to existing studies using subjective estimates of excessive smartphone use and mental health outcomes, suggesting that objective metrics may be more reliable when investigating human behaviours and mental health. The study limitations, future directions and implications are discussed as well.