Smartphone use in a large US adult population: Temporal associations between objective measures of usage and mental well-being

TL;DR

A study of over 10,000 adults found little evidence that smartphone use strongly affects mental well-being over four weeks.

Contribution

The study uses objective smartphone usage data from a large, diverse sample to assess mental well-being associations.

Findings

Weak or null associations were found between smartphone use and mood over four weeks.

Demographic factors like age and gender were stronger predictors of mood than smartphone use.

Social media use showed minor cross-sectional links to lower mood in younger adults, but effects were small.

Abstract

Smartphones are an indispensable tool in everyday life; however, there are concerns about how their use may impact mental health and well-being. Our analysis of a quarter of a million days of objective smartphone usage across over 10,000 diverse adult participants reveals little evidence for strong bidirectional associations between mental well-being and smartphone use.

Smartphones are essential tools in daily life yet concerns persist about their potential effects on mental health and well-being. Research on these relationships often relies on subjective measures of smartphone use, which can lack validity. These studies are also often limited by small, homogenous samples and the inability to differentiate between types of smartphone activities (e.g., social media vs. other applications). In this study, we analyzed 250,000 d of smartphone usage data from 10,099 adults, using objective measures of smartphone usage collected over 4 wk. We examined normative usage patterns and the temporal relationships between smartphone use and mood. Our findings reveal weak or null associations between smartphone use and mood, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, and at both individual and group levels. Demographic factors, such as age and gender, were stronger predictors of mood than smartphone use. Statistically significant results that were observed showed that younger adults demonstrated a stronger association between social media use and lower mood cross-sectionally, but not longitudinally. Non-social app use was linked to lower mood in between-subjects analyses, but better mood in within-subjects analyses. However, all effects were small (or null), indicating minimal practical significance. These findings suggest that smartphone use has a limited or negligible impact on mood and well-being over a 4-wk period and do not support claims of a strong or causal relationship between smartphone use and mental well-being across this timeframe.

Figures