Open Access Peer-reviewed Research Article

Increased mobile phone use in high school students as a social problem under the dimension of addiction

Main Article Content

Stefanos Armakolas corresponding author
Chrysavgi Lora
Anna Waligóra

Abstract

Nowadays, mobile phone usage is increasing, especially among children and adolescents. Mobile phones can offer a multitude of advantages, such as instant communication, entertainment, and information. Of course, the frequency regarding mobile phone usage and exposure poses risks, such as mobile phone addiction. Adolescents now have their own mobile phone and use it most of the time without limitations, with the risk of becoming addicted. The purpose of this research is to examine the increased mobile phone use among high school students, which may lead to addiction, as a social problem related to the lack of social interactions. The research method of the survey is quantitative. The sample of the quantitative method consists of 110 adolescents attending high school, each one equipped with a personal mobile phone. Several conclusions were drawn about mobile phone addiction and its association with social factor and the networks of adolescents. Data showed that parental educational level and average family income positively influenced the likelihood of adolescent mobile phone addiction. In contrast, no association was observed in terms of gender with adolescents' mobile phone addiction. It was observed that parental networks and peer networks had a negative effect on adolescents' mobile phone addiction. The research findings point middle family income and parents with a higher education degree are factors associated with adolescent mobile phone addiction. Additionally organizational networks, peer networks and parental networks are associated with adolescents' mobile phone addiction. Our research presents some limitations but paves the way for future research for the findings to become enhanced.

Keywords
mobile phone addiction, adolescents, social factors, social networks

Article Details

How to Cite
Armakolas, S., Lora, C., & Waligóra, A. (2024). Increased mobile phone use in high school students as a social problem under the dimension of addiction. Advances in Mobile Learning Educational Research, 4(1), 911-919. https://doi.org/10.25082/AMLER.2024.01.002

References

  1. Alpochoritis, C., Armakolas, S., & Karfaki, E. (2021). The mobile internet as a tool of education and as a means of intimidation and victimization in the field of Ecclesiastical Education. Advances in Mobile Learning Educational Research, 2(1), 171–179. https://doi.org/10.25082/amler.2022.01.001
  2. Bian, M., & Leung, L. (2014). Linking Loneliness, Shyness, Smartphone Addiction Symptoms, and Patterns of Smartphone Use to Social Capital. Social Science Computer Review, 33(1), 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439314528779
  3. Bianchi, A., & Phillips, J. G. (2005). Psychological Predictors of Problem Mobile Phone Use. CyberPsychology & Behavior, 8(1), 39–51. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2005.8.39
  4. Caplan, S. E. (2005). A Social Skill Account of Problematic Internet Use. Journal of Communication, 55(4), 721–736. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.2005.tb03019.x
  5. Cha, S. S., & Seo, B. K. (2018). Smartphone use and smartphone addiction in middle school students in Korea: Prevalence, social networking service, and game use. Health Psychology Open, 5(1), 205510291875504. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055102918755046
  6. Cheever, N. A., Rosen, L. D., Carrier, L. M., & Chavez, A. (2014). Out of sight is not out of mind: The impact of restricting wireless mobile device use on anxiety levels among low, moderate and high users. Computers in Human Behavior, 37, 290–297. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.002
  7. Kwan, H. C., & Leung, M. T. (2017). The Structural Model in Parenting Style, Attachment Style, Self-regulation and Self-esteem for Smartphone Addiction. IAFOR Journal of Psychology & the Behavioral Sciences, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.22492/ijpbs.3.1.06
  8. Chiu, S. I. (2014). The relationship between life stress and smartphone addiction on taiwanese university student: A mediation model of learning self-Efficacy and social self-Efficacy. Computers in Human Behavior, 34, 49–57. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.01.024
  9. Choi, S. W., Kim, D. J., Choi, J. S., Ahn, H., Choi, E. J., Song, W. Y., Kim, S., & Youn, H. (2015). Comparison of risk and protective factors associated with smartphone addiction and Internet addiction. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 4(4), 308–314. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.4.2015.043
  10. Choliz, M. (2012). Mobile-phone addiction in adolescent: The test of mobile phone dependence (TMD). Programme of Health Science, 22 (1), 33–45. https://www.umb.edu.pl
  11. Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2009). Connected: The Surprising Power of our Social Networks and How they Shape our Lives. Harper Collins Publishers.
  12. Claesdotter-Knutsson, E., André, F., Fridh, M., Delfin, C., Hakansson, A., & Lindström, M. (2021). Gender-Based Differences and Associated Factors Surrounding Excessive Smartphone Use Among Adolescents: Cross-sectional Study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting, 4(4), e30889. https://doi.org/10.2196/30889
  13. Davey, S., & Davey, A. (2014). Assessment of smartphone addiction in Indian adolescents: A mixed method study by systematic-review and meta-analysis approach. International Journal of Preventive Medicine, 5(12), 1500. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25709785
  14. De Craemer, M., Verloigne, M., Ghekiere, A., Loyen, A., Dargent-Molina, P., Brug, J., Lien, N., Froberg, K., Wedderkopp, N., Chastin, S., Cardon, G., & Van Cauwenberg, J. (2018). Changes in children’s television and computer time according to parental education, parental income and ethnicity: A 6-year longitudinal EYHS study. PLOS ONE, 13(9), e0203592. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0203592
  15. de-Sola, J., Talledo, H., Rodríguez de Fonseca, F., & Rubio, G. (2017). Prevalence of problematic cell phone use in an adult population in Spain as assessed by the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale (MPPUS). PLOS ONE, 12(8), e0181184. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0181184
  16. Dimmick, J., Feaster, J. C., & Hoplamazian, G. J. (2010). News in the interstices: The niches of mobile media in space and time. New Media & Society, 13(1), 23–39. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444810363452
  17. Foerster, M., Roser, K., Schoeni, A., & Röösli, M. (2015). Problematic mobile phone use in adolescents: derivation of a short scale MPPUS-10. International Journal of Public Health, 60(2), 277–286. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0660-4
  18. Geser, H. (2006). Are girls (even) more addicted? Some gender patterns of cell phone usage. Institute of Sociology, University of Zurich. https://www.ssoar.info/ssoar/handle/document/32700
  19. Hawi, N. S., & Samaha, M. (2016). To excel or not to excel: Strong evidence on the adverse effect of smartphone addiction on academic performance. Computers & Education, 98, 81–89. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.03.007
  20. Hesketh, K., Ball, K., Crawford, D., Campbell, K., & Salmon, J. (2007). Mediators of the Relationship Between Maternal Education and Children’s TV Viewing. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 33(1), 41–47. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2007.02.039
  21. Hong, F. Y., Chiu, S. I., & Huang, D. H. (2012). A model of the relationship between psychological characteristics, mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones by Taiwanese university female students. Computers in Human Behavior, 28(6), 2152–2159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.06.020
  22. Ihm, J. (2018). Social implications of children’s smartphone addiction: The role of support networks and social engagement. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 7(2), 473–481. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.7.2018.48
  23. Ihm, J., & Hsieh, Y. P. (2015). The implications of information and communication technology use for the social well-being of older adults. Information, Communication & Society, 18(10), 1123–1138. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118x.2015.1019912
  24. King, A. L. S., Valença, A. M., Silva, A. C. O., Baczynski, T., Carvalho, M. R., & Nardi, A. E. (2013). Nomophobia: Dependency on virtual environments or social phobia? Computers in Human Behavior, 29(1), 140–144. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.025
  25. Kuss, D. J., Kanjo, E., Crook-Rumsey, M., Kibowski, F., Wang, G. Y., & Sumich, A. (2018). Problematic Mobile Phone Use and Addiction Across Generations: the Roles of Psychopathological Symptoms and Smartphone Use. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science, 3(3), 141–149. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-017-0041-3
  26. Kwon, M., Kim, D.-J., Cho, H., & Yang, S. (2013). The Smartphone Addiction Scale: Development and Validation of a Short Version for Adolescents. PLoS ONE, 8(12), e83558. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0083558
  27. Lin, N., Dean, A., & Ensel, W. M. (2013). Social support, life events, and depression. Academic Press.
  28. Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2015). 13. Problem Mobile Phone Use in Spanish and British Adolescents: First steps towards a cross-cultural research in Europe. The Psychology of Social Networking Vol.2, 186–201. https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110473858-015
  29. Mangan, E., Leavy, J. E., & Jancey, J. (2018). Mobile device use when caring for children 0‐5 years: A naturalistic playground study. Health Promotion Journal of Australia, 29(3), 337–343. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/hpja.38
  30. Morrow, V. (1999). Conceptualising Social Capital in Relation to the Well-Being of Children and Young People: A Critical Review. The Sociological Review, 47(4), 744–765. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-954x.00194
  31. Nikken, P., & Schols, M. (2015). How and Why Parents Guide the Media Use of Young Children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(11), 3423–3435. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-015-0144-4
  32. Oulasvirta, A., Rattenbury, T., Ma, L., & Raita, E. (2011). Habits make smartphone use more pervasive. Personal and Ubiquitous Computing, 16(1), 105–114. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00779-011-0412-2
  33. Park, J. H., & Park, M. (2021). Smartphone use patterns and problematic smartphone use among preschool children. PLOS ONE, 16(3), e0244276. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0244276
  34. Putnam, R. D. (2000). Bowling alone. Proceedings of the 2000 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work. https://doi.org/10.1145/358916.361990
  35. Randler, C., Wolfgang, L., Matt, K., Demirhan, E., Horzum, M. B., & Beşoluk, Ş. (2016). Smartphone addiction proneness in relation to sleep and morningness–eveningness in German adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 5(3), 465–473. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.5.2016.056
  36. Roser, K., Schoeni, A., Foerster, M., & Röösli, M. (2015). Problematic mobile phone use of Swiss adolescents: is it linked with mental health or behaviour? International Journal of Public Health, 61(3), 307–315. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-015-0751-2
  37. Samaha, M., & Hawi, N. S. (2016). Relationships among smartphone addiction, stress, academic performance, and satisfaction with life. Computers in Human Behavior, 57, 321–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.12.045
  38. Sánchez-Martínez, M., & Otero, A. (2009). Factors Associated with Cell Phone Use in Adolescents in the Community of Madrid (Spain). CyberPsychology & Behavior, 12(2), 131–137. https://doi.org/10.1089/cpb.2008.0164
  39. Sarason, I. G., & Sarason, B. R. (Eds.). (1985). Social Support: Theory, Research and Applications. Springer Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5115-0
  40. Scott, J. (2017). Social Network Analysis. UK: SAGE Publications Ltd. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781529716597
  41. Seo, D. G., Park, Y., Kim, M. K., & Park, J. (2016). Mobile phone dependency and its impacts on adolescents’ social and academic behaviors. Computers in Human Behavior, 63, 282–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.026
  42. Shirley, S. A., & Kumar, S. S. (2019). Awareness and attitude among parents of primary school students towards screen time in children. International Journal of Contemporary Pediatrics, 7(1), 107. https://doi.org/10.18203/2349-3291.ijcp20195736
  43. Tsai, H. F., Cheng, S. H., Yeh, T. L., Shih, C. C., Chen, K. C., Yang, Y. C., & Yang, Y. K. (2009). The risk factors of Internet addiction—A survey of university freshmen. Psychiatry Research, 167(3), 294–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2008.01.015
  44. Wajcman, J., Bittman, M., Jones, P., & Johnstone, L. (2007). The Impact of the Mobile Phone on Work/Life Balance. Canberra Australian National University. https://www.kiwanja.net
  45. Yang, Y. S., Yen, J. Y., Ko, C. H., Cheng, C. P., & Yen, C. F. (2010). The association between problematic cellular phone use and risky behaviors and low self-esteem among Taiwanese adolescents. BMC Public Health, 10(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-217