LE3 .A278 2022

2022

Symons, Doug

Acadia University

Bachelor of Arts

Honours

Psychology

Psychology

Until recently, the research on smartphone use has relied heavily on self-report estimates of use. When compared with log data, these estimates have been found to be weak. Because few studies have compared validated self-report scales with actual use, this study examined whether self-report measures of smartphone addiction align with iPhone screen time data. Gender differences and relations with age of first phone acquisition were also examined. To address these issues, 75 undergraduate students completed an interview in which they were directed to the screen time feature in their iPhone and asked to report on their social media, texting, and gaming use within the last week. They also estimated console gaming time. Participants then completed online measures of addictions to the same constructs. It was hypothesized that: (1) the self-report and screen time measures would be significantly correlated, (2) women would have more texting and social media use, but less video game use than men, and (3) the younger that participants acquired their first phone, the more smartphone use they would have. It was found that all self-report measures of smartphone addiction were positively correlated with the screen time data, with the exception of texting. It was also found that women had more social media use but less video game use than men and that the younger that participants acquired their first phone the more texting they engaged in. Due to the correlations between the two measures of smartphone use being weak, it was concluded that self-reports of addiction are approximate but not very accurate measures of actual smartphone use.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3799