The role of nature-deficit disorder in the associations between Mobile phone overuse and well-being and mindfulness

Abstract

Mobile phone overuse has become an increasingly emergent public health issue globally on which much research has been conducted. Despite this, little research has investigated this topic in relation to the human-nature interaction. In order to address this gap, two studies were designed to investigate the association between mobile phone overuse and nature-deficit disorder as well as the role of nature-deficit disorder in the relations between mobile phone overuse and well-being and mindfulness. Results obtained from self-report measures revealed that mobile phone overuse was related to less nature contact. In addition, mobile phone overuse was linked with lower subjective well-being, psychological well-being and mindfulness by virtue of lower frequency of nature contact. The current research advances our understanding of people-environment relations. Furthermore, on the basis of the human-nature interaction, it suggests a relatively low-cost way to weaken the negative association between mobile phone overuse and its psychological outcomes, and thus highlights the value of introducing nature contact into the research on mobile phone overuse.