Abstract
Well-being and smartphone use are thought to influence each other. However, previous studies mainly focused on one direction (looking at the effects of smartphone use on well-being) and considered between-person effects, with self-reported measures of smartphone use. By using 2548 assessments of well-being and trace data of smartphone use collected for 45 consecutive days in 82 adolescent participants (Mage = 13.47, SDage = 1.62, 54% females), the present study disentangled the reciprocal and individual dynamics of well-being and smartphone use. Hierarchical Bayesian Continuous Time Dynamic Models were used to estimate how a change in frequency and duration of smartphone use predicted a later change in well-being, and vice versa. Results revealed that (i) when participants used the smartphone frequently and for a longer period, they also reported higher levels of well-being; (ii) well-being positively predicted subsequent duration of smartphone use; (iii) usage patterns and system dynamics showed heterogeneity, with many subjects showing reciprocal effects close to zero; finally, (iv) changes in well-being tend to persist longer than changes in the frequency and duration of smartphone use.
Highlights
Compared to any other digital media device, the smartphone is experienced as a “cognitive attractor”[1] since it delivers short moments of satisfaction at a low cost and in combination with a high salience of the stimulus
Well-being goes beyond the absence of mental health p roblems[21], previous literature mainly focused on the link between the latter and digital media use in youth, finding positive relationships[22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29]
Intraclass Correlation Coefficients (ICCs) showed that around 32%, 36%, and 39% of the variability in well-being, frequency, and duration of smartphone was due to between-person variance, respectively
Summary
Compared to any other digital media device, the smartphone is experienced as a “cognitive attractor”[1] since it delivers short moments of satisfaction at a low cost and in combination with a high salience of the stimulus. There are three main shortcomings of previous studies: (i) They mainly looked at one direction of the effects only (i.e., how media use influences well-being), (ii) some studies considered within-person effects, they mainly modelled between-person associations, and (iii) they employed self-reported measures of smartphone use. Following 500 adolescents over 8 years, Coyne et al.[39] reported that time spent on social media was moderately related to anxiety and depression at the between-person level, corroborating many cross-sectional studies finding negative associations. Jensen et al.[41] collected Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) data in 388 adolescents over the course of 2 weeks, focusing on internalizing and externalizing symptoms They found that daily technology use, including social media and smartphone use for different purposes, was not associated with mental health symptoms. It has been suggested that digital technology use turn adolescents away from problematic behaviours such as violence outdoors[52] and drug use, including alcohol consumption, since adolescents are already “constantly stimulated and entertained” by their smartphones[53]
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