In the past decade, mobile devices have become a staple in American lifestyle. The convenience of the mobile phone allows one to keep contact with their entire social circle with the touch of a button and access the online world from most anywhere in the country. With this access comes the risk of over use, as the convience of the mobile device can lead to an addition-like behavior. A study conducted by Motoharu Takao, Susumu Takahashi, and Masayoshi Kitamura examines this phenomenon and attempts to pin point why exactly people become addicted to their cell phones.
According to a multiregression model study, people who use mobile phones problematically “exhibit a bias toward extraversion and low self-esteem, but not neuroticism. Self-monitoring and loneliness also have been reported to be predictors of addictive behaviors. Approval motivation can be a new predictor for addictive tendencies, as indicated in the studies of self-esteem.”
For this study, the conductors distributed 570 questionnaires to participants requited from several university campuses. 488 returned the questionnaires, and 444 were usable. Ages ranged from 18-39. The questionnaires looked at gender, self-monitoring, low approval motivation, and loneliness. According to their results, Males and low lonely individuals make more phone calls to people. Females, high self-monitors, and high approval motivators scored higher on the problematic use scale. High self monitors, low approval motivators, and low lonely individuals were more likely to spend more time writing and reading text messages. Low lonely individuals were more likely to exchange texts with others regularly.
This study concluded that high self-monitors tended to become addicted to cell phone usage because of their extraversion, their large social circles, and their susceptibility to peer pressure. People who had high approval motivation did not spend a lot of time texting, but did exhibit problematic mobile phone use. This is because of their low self esteem. “They are disposed to seeking approval, assurance, and admiration among their peers, thereby indulging in attractive things.” Loneliness, however, did not prove to be an exhibiting factor of problematic mobile phone use, but was associated with problematic or addictive internet use. Introveted people seemed to be less prone to problematic phone use, as they are less likely to interact with people. Females, overall, were likely to experience more frequent problematic mobile phone use.
