Authors
Elias Aboujaoude, Germano Vera Cruz, Lucien Rochat, Robert Courtois, Farah Ben Brahim, Riaz Khan, Yasser Khazaal
Publication date
2022/10/20
Journal
Journal of Medical Internet Research
Volume
24
Issue
10
Pages
e38963
Publisher
JMIR Publications
Description
Background
Problematic smartphone use, like problematic internet use, is a condition for which treatment is being sought on the web. In the absence of established treatments, smartphone-provided tools that monitor or control smartphone use have become increasingly popular, and their dissemination has largely occurred without oversight from the mental health field.
Objective
We aimed to assess the popularity and perceived effectiveness of smartphone tools that track and limit smartphone use. We also aimed to explore how a set of variables related to mental health, smartphone use, and smartphone addiction may influence the use of these tools.
Methods
First, we conducted a web-based survey in a representative sample of 1989 US-based adults using the crowdsourcing platform Prolific. Second, we used machine learning and other statistical tools to identify latent user classes; the association between latent class membership and demographic variables; and any predictors of latent class membership from covariates such as daily average smartphone use, social problems from smartphone use, smartphone addiction, and other psychiatric conditions.
Results
Smartphone tools that monitor and control smartphone use were popular among participants, including parents targeting their children; for example, over two-thirds of the participants used sleep-related tools. Among those who tried a tool, the highest rate of perceived effectiveness was 33.1% (58/175). Participants who experienced problematic smartphone use were more likely to be younger and more likely to be …
Total citations
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