Relationship between Lifestyle and Self-Reported Smartphone Addiction in adolescents in the COVID-19 pandemic: A mixed-methods study.
Bruna Hinnah Borges Martins de Freitas, Maria Aparecida Munhoz Gaíva, Paula Manuela Jorge Diogo and 1 others
PMID 35331609WHAT IT FOUND
Adolescents with self-reported smartphone addiction had poorer lifestyle scores, especially sleep, stress, insight and study satisfaction.
Ask about screen time and routines in adolescent visits.
Key findings
01In 479 adolescents, 56.37% were classified as having self-reported smartphone addiction, and their mean lifestyle score was 59.31, compared with 70.77 for those without addiction.
02The largest lifestyle differences with smartphone addiction were in sleep, seat belts, stress and safe sex (d=0.85), insight (d=0.74) and career (d=0.71).
03In focus groups, adolescents said pandemic isolation made them use smartphones more, and that longer connection increased distance from people, reduced physical activity, disrupted eating and sleep, and harmed study focus.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study cannot show cause and effect because it measured lifestyle and smartphone addiction at one time. Answers were self-reported and may be influenced by social desirability bias. The sample was from one Brazilian city and recruited through schools, so it may not apply to other adolescents or settings. The qualitative phase used 16 adolescents selected by convenience from the first phase, so their views are not representative of all adolescents. Smartphone addiction was measured by a self-report score, not by clinical diagnosis. Pandemic restrictions and remote schooling may have shaped both lifestyle and smartphone use, limiting relevance outside that context.
Declared interests
The authors report no funding and no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that smartphone addiction caused unhealthy lifestyles or that limiting screen time will improve them. The study was cross-sectional and self-reported, so it only shows an association, and the authors note the relationship may be bidirectional.