“Smartphones among young people: between avoidant attachment and abuse“

Prof. Roberto Brugnoli

According to a National Institute of Statistics (Istat) research the behavior of children and young people is changing most rapidly due to new technologies . The number of active smartphone users in Italy is growing, a number that almost doubles among 11-17 year olds (from 55.6 percent in 2000 to 92.7 percent in 2011), and it has now turned into a multimedia tool since fewer young people are using it only for making phone calls (from 20.3 percent to 3.9 percent, within the same timeframe.).

Several studies have shown over the years how the unconscious use of smartphones can become a risk factor for children and adolescents, thus highlighting the need to scientifically investigate this phenomenon. According to this we point out the research by Linda Fischer-Grote, Oswald D. Kothgassner and Anna Felnhofer, in which the authors provide an overview of studies regarding the above mentioned subject.

Risk factors for problematic smartphone use in children and adolescents: a review of existing literature | Linda Fischer-Grote, Oswald D. Kothgassner, Anna Felnhofer.

In the last years we experienced soaring purchase and use of smartphones. The latters, in addition to simple calls, have become very intuitive and versatile tools, thanks to the internet access, thus giving the possibility to use social media, instant messaging and all kinds of applications as well as create multimedia files. This spread has been facilitated by its increasingly affordable price and thanks to its abilityto improve the communications. Despite these benefits, a growing evidence in literature highlights w the possible risks related to smartphones management such as excessive use, an increase in uncontrollable behaviors as constantly checking for notifications, as well as mental health problems such as depression and anxiety along to possible physical problems. This smartphone abuse can be considered as a behavioral addiction hat shares many features with gaming or Internet addiction. The symptoms of addiction are: development of tolerance, withdrawal, mood dysregulation, craving, and loss of control. Nonetheless, smartphone addiction is not included in either the DSM-5 or the forthcoming ICD-11, although the first now lists diagnostic criteria for internet gaming addiction with the need for further research and the latter has included the diagnosis of internet gaming disorders in its preliminary online version.
The term recommended is “problematic or maladaptive use” of the smartphone instead of “smartphone addiction”, which has to deal with an excessive behavior and a lower level of hindrance rather than with addiction proper. The excessive use is related to the duration and frequency of use. The problematic use of smartphone is identified when the user’s behavior is uncontrolled and reports negative consequences in daily life.

The research focused on very young users, and overall minors appear to be particularly vulnerable, an element that may be related to difficulties in self-control and immature time and impulse management. To date, the data collected are not sufficient to better define the subjects at risk, but they can allow us an idea of which elements may be influence very young people’s relationship with smartphones. Some data emerge from the research, which we report here:

• One study showed that boys and girls use their cell phones for different reasons, with girls spending more time on social media and text messaging, and boys being more interested in video gaming, media sharing, and Internet searches. To date, however, there appears to be no data showing that gender may be a risk factor.
• To date, age does not appear to be a distinguishing factor for identifying subjects at risk, although some studies have shown that in some cases older adolescents, or older girls, are at greater risk. Conversely, others have shown a higher prevalence in younger (11-14 years old) than in older (15-18 years old) individuals.
• Greater is the daily time and frequency of smartphone use, greater will be the risk of problematic smartphone use. Similarly, various studies have shown that the long time we spend online can lead more easily to smartphone misuse.
• Although there is still no unanimous literature on the correlation between social network use and smartphone addiction, the scientific community seems to agree in identifying gaming and denial of gaming addiction as predictors for problematic or maladaptive smartphone use. Time spent by playing with smartphone has been shown to be positively associated with addiction.
• Another predictor of addiction seems to be the pursuit of pleasure and entertainment through the smartphone by watching videos, listening to music, or reading ebooks. Many adolescents seek this entertainment as a way to relieve stress, worries, gain peer acceptance, and avoid being left behind.
• Some studies have identified how greater school or academic achievement and satisfaction seem to be negatively correlated with rates of smartphone addiction.
• To date, there are no official findings correlating smartphone abuse with income and family background. However, it appears that punishments and restrictive parental impositions, such as preventing access to certain apps, seem to increase the problematic use or smartphone addiction in children and adolescents.
• Also within the family sphere, it has been shown that domestic violence, parental addictions (substance abuse or gambling problems), neglect, psychological abuse, and emotional trauma are elements that can cause young people to develop a problematic relationship with smartphones. In fact, young people who live in solitude, without a social network that includes friends and family, seem to be more at risk and more easily exposed to an unhealthy relationship with cell phones.
  

All these elements, while not allow a psychological profiling of risk, highlight the family and social need to pay attention to the use, by the youngest, of a now indispensable tool such as the smartphone. As in various other cases, the latter in fact appears to be a medium capable of facilitating many aspects of life, communication, work, entertainment, but also of exacerbating problematic situations or creating new ones. It therefore appears important to pay attention to the development, especially among the youngest and most exposed, of a conscious and critical behavior of the smartphone approach in order to avoid the development of any form of problematic use.