Exploring Differences in Four Types of Online Activities Across Individuals with and without Problematic Smartphone Use

Mehdi Akbari; Mohammad Seydavi; Sonay Sheikhi; Paul J Wright

doi:10.1007/s11126-024-10090-x

Exploring Differences in Four Types of Online Activities Across Individuals with and without Problematic Smartphone Use

Psychiatr Q. 2024 Sep 7. doi: 10.1007/s11126-024-10090-x. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Mehdi Akbari¹, Mohammad Seydavi², Sonay Sheikhi², Paul J Wright³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, No.43. South Mofatteh Ave., Tehran, Iran. M.akbari@khu.ac.ir.
² Department of Clinical Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Education, Kharazmi University, No.43. South Mofatteh Ave., Tehran, Iran.
³ Department of Communication Science, The Media School, Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.

PMID: 39243278
DOI: 10.1007/s11126-024-10090-x

Abstract

Studies on problematic online activities commonly focus on one type of online activity, such as social media. However, individuals often use their Smartphones for more than one online activity. This study examined four types of online activities (social networking, gaming, information acquisition, and short-form video viewing). Based on a combinatory assessment of problematic smartphone use and hours spent online, two groups were created from a larger sample (N = 642): a problematic smartphone user group (PSU; N = 230; F = 72%; Age = 24.99 ± 6.60) and a non-problematic smart phone user group (NPSU; N = 87; F = 62%; Age = 30.49 ± 10.22). As compared to the NPSU group, the PSU group engaged in more social networking, gaming, information acquisition, and short-form video seeing. The PSU group also scored higher on psychological distress, sleep disturbance, fear of missing out, metacognitions about Smartphone use (MSU), desire thinking (DT), and lower on satisfaction with life and cognitive reappraisal. Regression analyses were employed to probe correlates of each online activity among the PSU and NPSU groups. The findings are discussed in light of the metacognitive model of addictive behaviors and future directions are provided concerning the challenges of distinguishing individuals for problematic Internet-related behaviors.

Keywords: Information acquisition addiction; Online gaming addiction; Problematic smartphone use; Short-form video addiction; Social networking.