Relationship between types of smartphone use among adolescents and smartphone addiction: focusing on gender differences
Background: With the increasing prevalence of smartphone ownership among adolescents in South Korea, understanding usage patterns and their consequences has become a priority. This study aimed to examine smartphone usage patterns and their association with smartphone addiction, with a specific fo...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MRE Press
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Men's Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://oss.jomh.org/files/article/20250328-507/pdf/JOMH2024093001.pdf |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| Summary: | Background: With the increasing prevalence of smartphone ownership
among adolescents in South Korea, understanding usage patterns and their
consequences has become a priority. This study aimed to examine smartphone usage
patterns and their association with smartphone addiction, with a specific focus
on gender differences. Methods: Data were derived from the 2022 Korean
Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS), which included 4524 adolescents. Latent
profile analysis was used to identify distinct smartphone usage patterns based on
the frequency of use across various activities. Multiple regression analysis was
performed to assess the relationship between these usage patterns and smartphone
addiction levels. Results: Four distinct smartphone usage profiles were
identified for both genders. For males, these profiles included the “High Usage
Group”, “Family & Friends Focused-Group”, “Moderate Usage Group” and
“Family & Friends Focused-Low Usage Group”. Both male and female adolescents
were predominantly categorized in the “Moderate” and “High Usage Groups”.
Among males, those in the “High Usage Group” exhibited significantly higher
levels of smartphone addiction compared to those in the “Family & Friends
Focused-Group” and “Family & Friends Focused-Low Usage Group”, potentially
due to excessive use of social networking, gaming and video-watching
applications. Female adolescents in the “High Usage Group” demonstrated higher
addiction levels compared to the “Family & Friends Focused-Group” and
“Moderate Usage Group”, which may be associated with reduced engagement in
intimate peer relationships and emotional sharing in groups with less frequent
smartphone use. Conclusions: These findings indicate the necessity for
gender-specific interventions to address smartphone addiction among adolescents,
emphasizing the importance of developing targeted strategies for addiction
prevention and policy formulation. |
|---|---|
| ISSN: | 1875-6867 1875-6859 |