scholarly journals Stress, Mood, and Smartphone Use in University Students: A 12-week Longitudinal Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abigail Bradley ◽  
Andrea Howard

The current study used device-logged screen time records to measure week-to-week within-person associations between stress and smartphone use in undergraduate students (N = 187, Mage = 20.1) during Fall 2020, focusing on differences across types of app used and whether accumulated screen use each week predicted end-of-week mood states. Participants uploaded weekly screenshots from their “Screen Time” settings display and completed surveys measuring stress, mood, and COVID-19 experiences. Results of multilevel models showed no week-to-week change in smartphone hours of use or device pickups. Higher stress levels were not concurrently associated with heavier smartphone use, either overall or by type of app. Heavier smartphone use in a given week did not predict end-of-week mood states, but students who tended to spend more time on their phones in general reported slightly worse moods—a between-person effect potentially reflecting deficits in well-being that are present in students’ offline lives as well. Our findings contribute to a growing scholarly consensus that time spent on smartphones tells us little about young people’s well-being.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Craig Sewall ◽  
Daniel Rosen ◽  
Todd M. Bear

The increasing ubiquity of mobile device and social media (SM) use has generated a substantial amount of research examining how these phenomena may impact public health. Prior studies have found that mobile device and SM use are associated with various aspects of well-being. However, a large portion of these studies relied upon self-reported estimates to measure amount of use, which can be inaccurate. Utilizing Apple’s “Screen Time” application to obtain actual iPhone and SM use data, the current study examined the accuracy of self-reported estimates, how inaccuracies bias relationships between use and well-being (depression, loneliness, and life satisfaction), and the degree to which inaccuracies were predicted by levels of well-being. Among a sample of 393 iPhone users, we found that: a.) participants misestimated their weekly overall iPhone and SM use by 22.1 and 16.6 hours, respectively; b.) the correlations between estimated use and well-being variables were consistently stronger than the correlations between actual use and well-being variables; and c.) the amount of inaccuracy in estimated use is associated with levels of participant well-being as well as amount of use. These findings suggest that estimates of device/SM use may be biased by factors that are fundamental to the relationships being investigated. **This manuscript is currently under review**


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (6) ◽  
pp. 1958
Author(s):  
Idoia Imaz-Aramburu ◽  
Ana-Belén Fraile-Bermúdez ◽  
Batirtze San Martín-Gamboa ◽  
Silvia Cepeda-Miguel ◽  
Borja Doncel-García ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted daily activities worldwide. University students may have experienced substantial changes in daily living as a result of restrictions on university attendance. The return to normalcy may take a long time, and understanding the influence that shifts in daily routines have had on the lifestyles of university students may inform approaches to support overall well-being. We analyzed changes in the lifestyles of students enrolled at a health sciences university during the COVID-19 pandemic. This longitudinal study took place at the Faculty of Medicine and Nursing in the University of the Basque Country in Spain, and the final sample consisted of 113 nursing students, 109 medical students, and 45 physiotherapy students. Our results demonstrate changes in lifestyles of university students during the pandemic. MedDiet adherence scores and the percentage of students with high adherence increased during the pandemic. This increase was due to the increased consumption of vegetables and nuts. In terms of physical activity, the practice of moderate and intense physical activity was maintained. These results provide important information for both public health authorities and educational institutions to guide strategies to maintain the well-being of students and enhance opportunities for young adults to lead a healthy lifestyle.


2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (9) ◽  
pp. eaax2615 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley Whillans ◽  
Lucía Macchia ◽  
Elizabeth Dunn

How does prioritizing time or money shape major life decisions and subsequent well-being? In a preregistered longitudinal study of approximately 1000 graduating university students, respondents who valued time over money chose more intrinsically rewarding activities and were happier 1 year after graduation. These results remained significant controlling for baseline happiness and potential confounds, such as materialism and socioeconomic status, and when using alternative model specifications. These findings extend previous research by showing that the tendency to value time over money is predictive not only of daily consumer choices but also of major life decisions. In addition, this research uncovers a previously unidentified mechanism—the pursuit of intrinsically motivated activities—that underlies the previously observed association between valuing time and happiness. This work sheds new light on whether, when, and how valuing time shapes happiness.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 794-812
Author(s):  
Nicola F Johnson

Screen time once referred to television. Nowadays, it includes various screen sizes that are internet-enabled devices, and the pervasive smartphone. Regardless of what kind of screen is used, screen time comprises much of life itself. Being online and offline is now fairly blurred because of the ubiquitousness of technologies, Wi-Fi and screens. This paper puts forth the notion of ‘temporal digital control’ to explain the choice of when and why smartphones and other portable digital devices are used in today’s cultural milieu, and it theorizes the ‘why’ of contemporary smartphone use is so prominent suggesting it enables temporal digital control in an autonomous space. Coupled with the engrossment of such use, the article elaborates how gazing at a digital device comprises a temporal connection, alongside a disconnection from real life, and a possible inauthenticity that could affect well-being. Recently published literature on ‘waiting’ is included to help theorize why actors choose to use digital technologies while waiting. Being preoccupied, or busy, or doing something with one’s smartphone while waiting creates a sense of alleged status, importance or connection in the form of digital temporal control. An array of vignettes is provided to demonstrate agentic disengagement with the present in a preference for moving into a temporal autonomous space of ‘perceived’ digital control. When gazing at and using a digital device, users are arguably disengaging with the temporal present, disconnecting with others who may be beside them, in preference to the creation of temporal (and digital) autonomous spaces. Regardless of what the user is doing on their smartphone or device, the use of technologies can provide a temporal autonomous space of digital control.


2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 134 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doris Jaalouk ◽  
Jocelyne Boumosleh

BACKGROUND: Recent evidence highlighted the potential of habitual smartphone use among youth to become an addiction analogous to established behavioral and substance-related addictions. While investigators revealed independent predictive effects of several sociodemographic factors, personality traits, psychological conditions, and smartphone usage patterns on smartphone addiction (SPA) in university students, none examined the independent effect of age at first smartphone use, a potential predictor variable, on subsequent development of SPA.OBJECTIVE: This study aims to examine the independent association between age at first smartphone use and SPA score in a sample of 688 Lebanese undergraduate university students.METHODS: A random sample of 688 undergraduate students selected from Notre Dame University, Lebanon filled out survey forms that included a) questions on socio-demographics, academics, smartphone use, personality type, depression, anxiety, and lifestyle habits; b) 26-item Smartphone Addiction Inventory (SPAI) Scale. Multiple linear regression analyses were used to examine the independent association between age at first use and SPA level.RESULTS: Mean age at first smartphone use was about 15 years. Younger age at first use of smartphone was found to be significantly associated with several SPA symptoms and correlated with higher total SPAI score. In the unadjusted regression model, higher total SPAI scores were found to be significantly associated with younger age at first smartphone use. This association remained significant in the partially adjusted model, but disappeared in the fully adjusted one when controlling additionally for smartphone use habits.CONCLUSION: Younger age at smartphone use did not independently predict SPA in this sample of students.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Olson ◽  
Dasha Sandra ◽  
Denis Chmoulevitch ◽  
Amir Raz ◽  
Samuel P. L. Veissière

Problematic smartphone use is rising across the world and has been associated with reductions in concentration and well-being. Few interventions aiming to reduce smartphone use take a multi-faceted approach that balances feasibility and effectiveness. We developed such an intervention with ten simple guidelines that nudge users to reduce their screen time (e.g., disabling non-essential notifications). Two pre-registered studies tested the intervention. Study 1 (N = 51) found reductions in screen time, problematic smartphone use, and depressive symptoms after two weeks. Study 2 (N = 70) found that the intervention caused larger changes in screen time, problematic smartphone use, and sleep quality than a control group of screen time monitoring alone. Our brief intervention reduced screen time by one hour per day and returned problematic smartphone use scores to normal levels for at least six weeks. This intervention provides simple, scalable, and feasible behavioural guidelines to promote healthy technology use.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 47 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oğuzhan Kırdök ◽  
Ayten Bölükbaşı

The aim of this study is to examine whether career adaptability and career adaptability subscales of senior undergraduates could predict subjective well-being.  The research was a descriptive correlational study which was conducted on 310 senior students (173 women, 137 men) in a state-funded university on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey and participants participated in this study voluntarily. Participants ranged in age between 20 and 28 years. Career Adaptability Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule were used as data collection tools in this study. Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation Analysis, Simple Regression Analysis, and finally Multiple Regression Analysis were performed to examine the effect of the total score of career adaptability and subscale scores of careers adaptability of senior undergraduate students on subjective well-being. All analyses were conducted using the SPSS version 20.0. The findings of the research showed that career adaptability predicts the subjective well-being of university senior students. Control as a subscale of career adaptability was found to be the strongest predictive variable for subjective well-being among senior university students. Concern and confidence as subscales of career adaptability were found to be other predictive variables of subjective well-being in this study. However, curiosity as a subscale was not found to be a predictor of subjective well-being. These findings are discussed through career construction theory.


2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. A67-A67
Author(s):  
G Szeto ◽  
C Chow ◽  
A Chu ◽  
B Ng ◽  
A Kwok

Abstract Purpose Intensive smartphone use may contribute to chronic neck and shoulder pain and sleep disturbance. This study aimed to examine the relationship of sleep quality with daytime smartphone use and self-reported neck-shoulder symptoms among university students in Hong Kong. Methods Nineteen university students participated (11 males, 9 females, mean age=21.7±3.9). The actigraphy device Actiwatch 2 (Philips Ltd) was used to record 7 nights of sleep data. Daytime smartphone use and neck and shoulder pain scores (on a Pain scale 0–10) were recorded. Results Total sleep time (TST) was significantly longer in females (410.2min) than males (359.6min) (p=0.012), as was the sleep efficiency (females: 87.8%, males: 79.8%, p=0.003). Their sleep onset latency was similar at around 18min. The mean weekly Screen time and pre-bed Screen time were 430.1min and 37.9min for females, and 427.2min and 26.7min for males respectively. All the participants reported mild neck-shoulder symptoms (mean pain scores=0.9±1.8 for neck, 1.5±2.4 for shoulder). Pearson correlation showed no statistically significant association between sleep parameters, neck/shoulder pain score, screen time during day, and pre-bed screen time. Conclusion The present results showed that university students in Hong Kong were sleep deprived with on average, ~6h of sleep per night and spending ~30min each night on screen devices. Female students slept ½h more than male students. Given the low pain scores and small sample size, no significant relationship was found with musculoskeletal symptoms and smartphone use. Future study should recruit those with more severe symptoms and increase the sample size.


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