Several characteristics of smartphone and the social network use based on an online survey among young people

Abstract

The media and information technology play an increasingly important role in our lives, they have become necessary, particularly for young people in the fields of communication, education and connections. However, alongside the advantages a number of problems have also started to emerge, one being addiction due to excessive use. Although there are overlaps among internet, smartphone, and social media use and addictions, it is worth examining their characteristics separately. The present study focused on smartphone use and addiction, and we also detected how these might interact with social media use and their features. In this online survey participants were young people aged between 14 and 30 years (N = 244; 66 per cent females, mean age = 23.1 years, S.D. = 3.4). Our results suggest that the time period itself is accountable for smartphone and social media addictions especially due to the convenience, and easy-to-reach and entertaining nature of the smart device. The smartphone use is universal, although some applications are preferred more by girls (e.g., Pinterest) or boys (online games). Both use and addiction tend to decrease with age.