Abstract
BackgroundThe use of mobile touch screen devices, e.g. smartphones and tablet computers, has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents. However, little is known about how adolescents use these devices and potential influences on their use. Hence, this qualitative study explored adolescents’ perceptions on their patterns of use and factors influencing use, and perceptions and concerns from parents.MethodsSemi-structured interviews were conducted with adolescents (n = 36; 11 to 18 years) and their parents/caregivers (n = 28) in Singapore recruited to represent males and females across a range of ages from different socioeconomic groups. Prompts covered weekday and weekend use patterns, types of activities, perspectives on amount of use, parental control measures and concerns. Interviews were recorded and transcribed. Transcripts were coded and thematic analysis was carried out.ResultsSmartphone was the most common mobile device owned and used by many of the adolescents, while only some used a tablet. Many adolescents and their parents felt that adolescents’ MTSD use was high, frequent and ubiquitous, with frequent checking of device and multitasking during use. Reported influences of use included functional, personal and external influences. Some of the influences were irresistibility of mobile devices, lack of self-control, entertainment or relaxation value, and high use by peers, family and for schoolwork that contributed to high use, or school/parental control measures and lack of internet availability that limited use. Most adolescents were generally unconcerned about their use and perceived their usage as appropriate, while most parents expressed several concerns about their adolescents’ use and perceived their usage as excessive.ConclusionsThis study has provided rich insights into the patterns and influences of contemporary mobile device use by adolescents. Mobile device use has become an integral part of adolescents’ daily routines, and was affected by several functional, personal and external influences which either facilitated or limited their use. There also seemed to be a strong inclination for adolescents to frequently check and use their mobile devices. There is an urgent need to understand the implications of these common adolescent behaviours to inform advice for wise mobile device use by adolescents.
Highlights
The use of mobile touch screen devices, e.g. smartphones and tablet computers, has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents
Frequent and ubiquitous mobile touch screen devices (MTSD) use Both adolescents and parents perceived adolescents’ MTSD use to be high, frequent and ubiquitous, especially that of smartphones, which were consistent with recent survey studies [1, 3, 6]
The findings suggest that the high use of MTSDs among peers and family members has an influence on adolescents’ use of MTSDs
Summary
The use of mobile touch screen devices, e.g. smartphones and tablet computers, has become increasingly prevalent among adolescents. MTSDs can offer other benefits such as delivering health information or interventions (telehealth) [8], building family time and connectedness [9], or improving ease of communication and motivation in learning [10], which may further facilitate increased use This increased use has raised concerns among parents, researchers and educators about its potential negative impact on adolescents’ mental, social and physical well-being and development, such as depression [11], adverse family relationships [12], cyberbullying [13], poor sleep quality [14, 15], sedentariness [16], musculoskeletal symptoms [17, 18] and visual symptoms [18]
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