What do smartphones actually do to our psyche?

I believe most students have wondered at some point whether they are addicted to their mobile phone. I use my mobile phone as an alarm clock, to listen to music or podcasts on the way to university, to entertain myself less during lectures, after university to call friends, to coordinate shared shopping for the flat share, to find my way when visiting new acquaintances and so on… This raises the question: Is that normal, should I be concerned because I would be quite lost without my mobile phone, should I perhaps even worry about my mental health?

Nowadays, in the group of 14 to 49-year-olds, 19 out of 20 people use a smartphone (1). It is taken for granted not only to own a mobile phone, but a smartphone. Unfortunately, on the other hand, it is not taken for granted to learn how to use it constructively. Under the heading "media literacy", it is fundamentally assumed that young people automatically learn how to use their smartphones without problems. For my part, I heard many presentations at school about how to deal with alcohol, how to deal with drugs, how to use contraception correctly and about dealing with Nazi ideology. There was no presentation about how I should use my mobile phone. So is it not dangerous to use your mobile phone at all, or simply not dangerous enough to organise presentations about it?

I have some good news for those who are already thinking about this. There are studies that could not find any link between internet use and depression or anxiety disorders (2). These links were researched for both adolescents and young and older adults, and their non-existence has been substantiated multiple times. Furthermore, it was shown that time we spend on social media platforms (in this study only Facebook) did not predict depression (3). That probably lets us all breathe a sigh of relief. Since Facebook is used by many in a similar way to Instagram, WhatsApp and Co, a cautious generalisation is possible. In addition, a positive link was demonstrated between the intensity of Facebook use and life satisfaction as well as voluntary engagement and political participation (4).

Caution must nevertheless be exercised. Even though internet use in general does not seem to be associated with psychopathological problems, i.e. pathologically altered experience and behaviour, studies on smartphone use show a different picture. This does seem to be associated with depression, anxiety disorders and poorer sleep quality (5, 6). It is assumed that extended use has an influence on depression and anxiety disorders, and these in turn affect sleep problems. Furthermore, there seems to be a connection between problematic smartphone use and stress. "Problematic smartphone use" was assessed using a questionnaire which asks items on a 5-point scale, such as "I use my smartphone to escape or relieve a negative mood," "I have made unsuccessful attempts to control my smartphone use" and "I have spent increasing amounts of time on my smartphone". The summed value of the responses was classified as problematic from 36 onwards. Other studies were also able to establish a link between problematic smartphone use and self-esteem (7). Increasing internet use also showed a decrease in communication with family members and an increase in loneliness (8). It was further shown that people who tend to develop internet addiction are also more likely to have depression (9). For this, test subjects were asked how dependent they considered themselves to be. In addition, they completed a depression questionnaire. People who reported symptoms of internet addiction also showed more depression symptoms. Furthermore, men showed a greater tendency towards internet addiction than women, just as younger people tended to do so more than older people. Does that now mean that young men who consider themselves dependent on the internet will automatically suffer from depression sooner or later? That is exactly what it does not mean. There seems to be a link between these variables. But this could also mean that people who are more prone to depression are also more likely to show problems with internet addiction. One possible explanation would be that depressed people tend to use their mobile phone as an avoidance strategy in dealing with difficult situations in order to reduce stress. This may not seem problematic once, but if people regularly find themselves in difficult situations and use their mobile phone as a coping strategy, this can lead to addiction. Similarly, a bidirectional link is possible: psychopathological problems promote problematic internet use and problematic internet use simultaneously promotes psychopathological problems.

Even though it cannot be determined with certainty how this link arises, it is still interesting to consider how many people are actually declared to be smartphone addicts. Although predominantly national studies have been conducted to investigate this question, in industrialised societies worldwide it is estimated that between 3.5% and 9.6% of the population are actually dependent on the internet (10). The Federal Ministry of Health (11) was able to demonstrate somewhat lower figures in Germany in 2011. So approximately 1.5% of the total population (women 1.3%, men 1.7%), which corresponds to approximately 1.2 million people in Germany, show internet addiction. If you only look at 14 to 24-year-olds, the values double to 3.8% (women 4.5%, men 3.0%). If only 14 to 16-year-olds are surveyed, rates of 6.3% are shown (8.6% for girls, 4.1% for boys). The conspicuous women predominantly use social networks, conspicuous men use social networks and online games. In this debate, the focus has now shifted not only to the question of internet addiction, but also to smartphone addiction. Only a few studies have been published on this topic. As a possible trigger, it should be noted that we can rarely speak of smartphone addiction in general and should rather speak of addiction to specific apps such as WhatsApp or Facebook. Nevertheless, a Swiss study found a prevalence of smartphone addiction of 16.9% within a sample consisting exclusively of schoolchildren (12). Based on the previously mentioned studies, the assumption of lower figures in the general population suggests itself, since younger people also showed a higher probability of symptoms in internet addiction. 

If you are now asking yourself whether you are dependent, you should consider whether you recognise some of the symptoms presented below in yourself (13, 14). These include salience, which in the current example is represented by the priority of mobile phone use as the most important activity. The mobile phone thus becomes more important than spending time with friends or pursuing hobbies. Following this is mood modification, which is shown by a subjectively improved mood as a result of use. Smartphone use as a strategy for dealing with difficulties also falls into this category (for example, avoiding problematic situations by responding to a message). Tolerance is the next criterion, which is shown by an increasingly necessary "usage dose" to achieve the same effect, e.g. for mood regulation. This ultimately results in longer usage duration for those dependent. If, in your assessment, you meet this criterion, you can view your mobile phone usage time either through an internal function of your smartphone (e.g. on iPhones) or download an additional app for it (e.g. QualityTime) to check your subjective feeling. Another criterion for addiction is the increase in existing and emergence of new conflicts. These can arise with other people or activities such as hobbies, but also within the individual. Intrapersonal conflicts can be expressed, for example, by people thinking they spend too much time on their mobile phone and being annoyed about it. Furthermore, relapses are a sign of addiction. Even if mobile phone usage behaviour seems to be under control for some time, it will probably return to extreme use after this phase. If your own smartphone use corresponds to these criteria, you should reconsider it; even if individual symptoms do not directly show problematic behaviour, a combination of these may be harmful to you, your social environment and your further development. What you can try to find out whether you show problematic behaviour in dealing with your mobile phone is to simply leave your mobile phone at home when you have planned an activity with someone. See how it ultimately affects you: Are you stressed because you cannot check whether the bus is delayed, even though it is just a few minutes that you could easily wait, or are you constantly searching in your bag for your mobile phone to use it? Then you should possibly draw conclusions from this, because this type of behaviour can have an impact on your psyche.

Additionally, an idea for conscious use of your smartphone: Agree with your friends that you spend mobile phone-free evenings together and the first person to pick up their mobile phone anyway has to buy everyone a round. 

Even though internet and mobile phone use show links with depression, anxiety disorders, loneliness, fewer social contacts and poorer sleep quality, that does not mean that the best solution is to abstain from it completely. Instead, it is important to be aware of what the mobile phone actually represents as an enrichment and when you should rather put it aside and enjoy your offline life.

 Florentine Klepel 

1) Smartphone-Nutzung in Deutschland bis 2018. (n.d.). Zugriff über https://de.statista.com/statistik/daten/studie/198959/umfrage/anzahl-der-smartphonenutzer-in-deutschland-seit-2010/

2) Ohannessian, C. M. (2009). Media Use and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment: An Examination of Gender Differences. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(5), 582-593. doi:10.1007/s10826-009-9261-2

3) Jelenchick, L. A., Eickhoff, J. C., & Moreno, M. A. (2013). "Facebook Depression?" Social Networking Site Use and Depression in Older Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52(1), 128-130. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.05.008

4) Valenzuela, S., Park, N., & Kee, K. F. (2009). Is There Social Capital in a Social Network Site?: Facebook Use and College Students Life Satisfaction, Trust, and Participation. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 14(4), 875-901. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2009.01474.x

5) Richardson, M., Hussain, Z., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). Problematic smartphone use, nature connectedness, and anxiety. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(1), 109-116. doi:10.1556/2006.7.2018.10

6) Demirci, K., Akgönül, M., & Akpinar, A. (2015). Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(2), 85-92. doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.010

7) Elhai, J. D., Dvorak, R. D., Levine, J. C., & Hall, B. J. (2017). Problematic smartphone use: A conceptual overview and systematic review of relations with anxiety and depression psychopathology. Journal of Affective Disorders, 207, 251-259. doi:10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.030

8) Kraut, R., Patterson, M., Lundmark, V., Kiesler, S., Mukophadhyay, T., & Scherlis, W. (1998). Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being? American Psychologist, 53(9), 1017-1031. doi:10.1037//0003-066x.53.9.1017).

9) Morrison, C. M., & Gore, H. (2010). The Relationship between Excessive Internet Use and Depression: A Questionnaire-Based Study of 1,319 Young People and Adults. Psychopathology, 43(2), 121-126. doi:10.1159/000277001

10) Sussman, S., Lisha, N., & Griffiths, M. (2010). Prevalence of the Addictions: A Problem of the Majority or the Minority? Evaluation & the Health Professions, 34(1), 3-56. doi:10.1177/0163278710380124

11) Prävalenz der Internetabhängigkeit, 2011, Zugriff über https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/fileadmin/Dateien/5_Publikationen/Drogen_und_Sucht/Berichte/Kurzbericht/Kurzbericht_Praevalenz_der_Internetabhaengigkeit__PINTA_.pdf

12) Haug, S., Castro, R. P., Kwon, M., Filler, A., Kowatsch, T., & Schaub, M. P. (2015). Smartphone use and smartphone addiction among young people in Switzerland. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(4), 299-307. doi:10.1556/2006.4.2015.037

13) Kuss, D. J., Shorter, G. W., van Rooij, A. J., Griffiths, M. D., & Schoenmakers, T. (2013). Assessing Internet addiction using the parsimonious Internet addiction components model. A preliminary study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 11(5), online first.

14) Smartphone Addiction, Revisited. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/in-excess/201903/smartphone-addiction-revisited