Health Canada (Commonwealth Union) – The University of Toronto (U of T), research team has amassed the most extensive dataset to date on problematic smartphone use, as detailed in a study published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.
Across 41 countries with a minimum of 100 participants, the study uncovered a noteworthy trend: women exhibited higher scores in problematic smartphone use compared to men, and this correlation was inversely proportional to age. In essence, the older the user, the lower the likelihood of problematic smartphone use.
Jay Olson, a post-doctoral researcher in the psychology department at U of T Mississauga and co-author of the study, expressed surprise at the robust consistency of these findings.
The comprehensive dataset also enabled researchers, including Dasha Sandra, a PhD student at U of T Scarborough, to discern geographical patterns across multiple continents. Notably, Southeast Asia demonstrated the highest scores of problematic smartphone use, while Europe exhibited the lowest.
The results have raised fundamental questions in the field, according to Olson. Why do women tend to have higher rates of problematic smartphone use? What factors in the younger demographic contribute to increased likelihood of problematic use? Moreover, how do social and cultural variations from country to country influence these outcomes?
The research team gathered survey responses from a staggering 50,423 participants aged 18 to 90 spanning 195 countries. Participants responded to questions based on the Smartphone Addiction Scale, a widely recognized metric for studying problematic smartphone use.
Olson suggests that the higher rates of problematic smartphone use among women may be linked to gender-specific patterns in smartphone usage. The study’s findings open the door to further exploration of the intricate interplay between age, gender, and cultural factors in shaping our relationship with smartphones.
“Researchers think women tend to use their phones more for social reasons: communication with friends and family via social media,” he says, adding that uses related to social validation (for example, “likes” on Instagram) are “the kinds of uses that can build habits very quickly.”
Olsen further pointed out that it’s not that men abstain from using their phones for social purposes, but the belief is that they engage in fewer social functions, such as participating in group chats, connecting with family, or following influencers.
The research team aims to validate this hypothesis as they continue their data analysis. Problematic usage can also serve as a reflection of distress or anguish experienced by individuals.
Olsen, indicated that people utilize their phones as a way of preventing negative emotions, akin to an adult pacifier, highlighting that differences in both gender and age can be linked to variations in distress levels.
The research also considers cultural disparities in smartphone use. By utilizing an index of “cultural tightness” and “cultural looseness,” researchers examine data through the lens of diverse social norms globally. This distinction extends to collectivist cultures, which prioritize group connections, versus individualist cultures.
Their hypothesis posits that the stringency of social norms plays a role in smartphone use. In an individualistic culture, for instance, regular calls to family might not be the norm, according to Olson.
Another influencing factor is the number of available screens vying for users’ attention. Olson highlights that some countries skipped widespread use of laptops and desktop computers, opting instead to develop mobile data networks, making smartphones the primary computing device. For instance, Europe, with its historical use of the internet on personal computers since the 1980s and 1990s, recorded the lowest rates of problematic use. In contrast, Southeast Asia, which experienced widespread adoption of the internet via smartphones only in the last 15 years, recorded the highest rates of problematic use.
“It explains some differences in screen time,” said Olson.
