Love, desire, and problematic behaviors: Exploring young adults’ smartphone use from a uses and gratifications perspective.

Abstract

In light of the pervasive adoption of smartphones, scholars have explored the consequences of problematic (i.e., excessive and uncontrolled) use of this technology. Studies have often shown that individuals who spend much time using smartphones experience symptoms similar to those of substance addiction. However, considering the number of hours employed on smartphones as a criterion for measuring problematic use does not account for what people do with their smartphones and why. This study aims to understand what gratifications are related to smartphone usage time and problematic use. Secondly, it aims to understand whether different usage profiles are identifiable from those gratifications and how they differ in terms of problematic use, time-of-use, and socio-demographic characteristics. The data from 528 Italian university students had been collected through a cross-sectional design. Through regression analyses, we found that smartphone gratifications differentially predict the amount of time spent using the smartphone and the level of problematic use that students exhibited. Using the K-means clustering technique, we identified five usage profiles that differed in the amount of time spent using smartphones and, to a greater extent, in their problematic use levels.