Abstract
We developed an mHealth application that can help alleviate the problematic use of smartphones and allied psychological symptoms. This study observed the change in patterns of users’ problematic smartphone use, depression, and anxiety while using the mHealth application. We conducted this study from 9 January to 10 April 2019. The Korean Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale for Adults, Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale, and the Patient Health Questionnaire were measured at week 0, 8, 12. A post hoc test of Repeated Measurement Anova analysis and Linear Mixed Model analysis were used. Overall, 190 participants were allocated into two groups. Sixty-six were in the smartphone control-use group and 124 were in the problematic-use group. The study elucidated the difference between the two groups in terms of problematic smartphone use and depression and anxiety after 13 weeks of using the mHealth application. This study showed the use of the mHealth application reducing problematic smartphone use scores and negative symptoms such as anxiety and depression in the PSU group. The results can be used as the basis for similar qualitative studies to further resolve the problematic use of smartphones.
Highlights
A recent survey on the ever-increasing use of smartphones worldwide over the last few years revealed that the global smartphone usage rate in 2020 was 45%, up from 38% in 2018.In countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, the average smartphone ownership rate exceeded 75% [1]
There was no significant change in the Smartphone Usage Control (SUC) group for problematic smartphone use, while in the Problematic Smartphone Use (PSU) group, problematic smartphone use scores were reduced to the potentialrisk group score from 0 to 8 weeks and it showed a continuous decrease until week 13, nearly reaching the normal group’s scores
These results demonstrated that smartphone usage management apps such as MindsCare were effective on the PSU group
Summary
A recent survey on the ever-increasing use of smartphones worldwide over the last few years revealed that the global smartphone usage rate in 2020 was 45%, up from 38% in 2018. In countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, the average smartphone ownership rate exceeded 75% [1]. Korea’s smartphone ownership rate is over 95%, which is the highest in the world [2]. The excessive usage of smartphones has decreased the self-ability to control the usage and causes the smartphone to be continuously used, which is causing maladjustment to daily life [8]. Problematic smartphone use affects mental health, such as depression, anxiety [5,6,9,10], stress [5,10,11], and other issues
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