Digital newspapers’ perspectives about adolescents’ smartphone use

Abstract

The growth of ICTs has led to a new socialization model and a continuous dynamic flow of communication and information, wherein smartphones have become very popular with teenagers. This paper investigates what teenagers use smartphones for and the related intervention measures published in digital newspapers. A qualitative methodology was used to analyze 362 news items published in 53 Spanish digital newspapers. The results and conclusions indicate that teenagers use smartphones mainly for recreational purposes and sparingly for educational ones. The published intervention measures are primarily aimed at stimulating citizens’ reflections on the subject, in order to improve proper smartphone use by teenagers.