Abstract
BackgroundDespite the pervasive use of smartphones among university students, there is still a dearth of research examining the association between smartphone use and psychological well-being among this population. The current study addresses this research gap by investigating the relationship between smartphone use and psychological well-being among university students in Thailand.MethodsThis cross-sectional study was conducted from January to March 2018 among university students aged 18–24 years from the largest university in Chiang Mai, Thailand. The primary outcome was psychological well-being, and was assessed using the Flourishing Scale. Smartphone use, the primary independent variable, was measured by five items which had been adapted from the eight-item Young Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction. All scores above the median value were defined as being indicative of excessive smartphone use.ResultsOut of the 800 respondents, 405 (50.6%) were women. In all, 366 (45.8%) students were categorized as being excessive users of smartphones. Students with excessive use of smartphones had lower scores the psychological well-being than those who did not use smartphone excessively (B = -1.60; P < 0.001). Female students had scores for psychological well-being that were, on average, 1.24 points higher than the scores of male students (P < 0.001).ConclusionThis study provides some of the first insights into the negative association between excessive smartphone use and the psychological well-being of university students. Strategies designed to promote healthy smartphone use could positively impact the psychological well-being of students.
Highlights
Smartphones have become ubiquitous, with growing adoption rates across low, middle, and high-income countries [1]
This study provides some of the first insights into the negative association between excessive smartphone use and the psychological well-being of university students
Strategies designed to promote healthy smartphone use could positively impact the psychological wellbeing of students
Summary
Smartphones have become ubiquitous, with growing adoption rates across low-, middle, and high-income countries [1]. The term smartphone generally refers to a mobile phone offering some computer-like functionalities [2]. These advanced functionalities and applications, including Internet capability, portability, and accessibility have made smartphones essential equipment for many in people in their everyday lives. Various terms have been used to describe different patterns of smartphone overuse These include for example “excessive smartphone use”, “problematic smartphone use”, and “smartphone addiction” [5, 6]. For the sake of simplicity, we have adopted the term “excessive smartphone use” in this manuscript to refer to the complete range of problem smartphone use patterns. The current study addresses this research gap by investigating the relationship between smartphone use and psychological well-being among university students in Thailand.
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