Do smartphone usage scales predict behavior?

Abstract

Understanding how people use technology remains important, particularly when measuring the impact this might have on individuals and society. However, despite a growing body of resources that can quantify smartphone use, research within psychology and social science overwhelmingly relies on self-reported assessments. These have yet to convincingly demonstrate an ability to predict objective behavior. Here, and for the first time, we compare a variety of smartphone use and ‘addiction’ scales with objective behaviors derived from Apple’s Screen Time application. While correlations between psychometric scales and objective behavior are generally poor, single estimates and measures that attempt to frame technology use as habitual rather than ‘addictive’ correlate more favorably with subsequent behavior. We conclude that existing self-report instruments are unlikely to be sensitive enough to accurately predict basic technology use related behaviors. As a result, conclusions regarding the psychological impact of technology are unreliable when relying solely on these measures to quantify typical usage.

An analysis of problematic media use and technology use addiction scales – what are they actually assessing?

“…Empirically, the assessment of problematic media use is hindered by unresolved theoretical and etiological foundations, as well as general challenges in assessing media use [6]. Adopting a tendency present in much of modern Social Psychology [4], researchers have relied on retrospective self-report questionnaires (or scales) to assess individuals' propensities for various behaviours, disorders, or other related outcomes.…”

Social Smartphone Apps Do Not Capture Attention Despite Their Perceived High Reward Value

“…For instance, Johannes et al (in press) found that receiving a notification during a cognitive control task did not impair performance despite participants reporting to find the notification highly distracting. In a similar vein, other studies found that people are not good estimators of their own smartphone or internet use (Ellis, Davidson, Shaw, & Geyer, 2018;Scharkow, 2016). Taken together, these findings suggest that there might be a gap between what people themselves report about the distractions of their smartphones and the actual behavioral impairment these devices exert on them.…”

An Analysis of Problematic Media Use and Technology Use Addiction Scales – What Are They Actually Assessing?

“…While weak correlations have been shown for a number of scales for both smartphone use in general and addiction in particular, and more objective assessments of media use [6], this does not necessarily imply that scales purporting to assess problematic behaviours are invalid or spurious -use is only one component of the behavioural and mental patterns targeted. Nevertheless, in a review of 45 tools designed to assess Internet addiction, Laconi et al [15] found that only 26 had been evaluated for their psychometric properties.…”

“…Empirically, the assessment of problematic media use is hindered by unresolved theoretical and etiological foundations, as well as general challenges in assessing media use [6]. Adopting a tendency present in much of modern Social Psychology [4], researchers have relied on retrospective self-report questionnaires (or scales) to assess individuals' propensities for various behaviours, disorders, or other related outcomes.…”