Do young people perceive their smartphone addiction as problematic? A study in Danish university college students

Gitte Frydenlund; Julie Dalgaard Guldager; Katrine Oertel Frederiksen; Heidi Klakk Egebæk

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20368

Do young people perceive their smartphone addiction as problematic? A study in Danish university college students

Heliyon. 2023 Sep 25;9(10):e20368. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e20368. eCollection 2023 Oct.

Authors

Gitte Frydenlund¹, Julie Dalgaard Guldager^{1

2}, Katrine Oertel Frederiksen¹, Heidi Klakk Egebæk^{3

4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Physiotherapy Education, University College South Denmark, Degnevej 16, 6705 Esbjerg, Denmark.
² Unit for Health Promotion Research, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Esbjerg, Denmark.
³ Research Department, University College South Denmark, Haderslev, Denmark.
⁴ Centre for Research in Childhood Health, Institute of Sports Science and Clinical Biomechanics, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark.
⁵ Centre for Clinical Research and Prevention, Section for Health Promotion and Prevention, Bispebjerg and Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark.

Abstract

As smartphone addiction has been linked to poor mental health and lower levels of physical activity, it is of public health interest to explore the behavior behind problematic smartphone use and develop interventions to reduce smartphone use. This study aimed to investigate the risk of smartphone addiction and examine perceived problematic smartphone behavior among university college students. This online survey conducted amongst 1251 Danish University College students studied smartphone addiction in conjunction with physical- and mental health dimensions. The risk of smartphone addiction was estimated using the Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (SAS-SV). The main results are presented as odds ratios from multivariate logistic regressions. One in four (23%) were at high risk of smartphone addiction. Of this high-risk group, 74% identified their smartphone behavior as problematic, with 91% having considered reducing their smartphone use. Students with a high risk of smartphone addiction perceiving their behavior as problematic were more likely to report low mental health and well-being. In conclusion, students at high risk of smartphone addiction acknowledge their problematic behavior and have actively considered behavior modifications. This knowledge can enable teachers, parents, and social and health workers to understand that a majority of heavy smartphone users are open to reducing their smartphone usage, albeit with the appropriate support.

Keywords: Behavior change; Mental health; Perceived health; Physical health; Smartphone addiction; Students.