Smartphones as digital companions: Characterizing the relationship between users and their phones

Abstract

Based on the idea of computers constituting social agents and referring to core characteristics of human-human relationships, this study introduces the concept of a digital companionship between smartphone users and their devices. Constituting characteristics (closeness, trust, preoccupation) and outcomes (stress, coping with stress) of social relationships were adapted to yield a model of human-smartphone relationships for empirical testing. A cross-national sample of participants (n = 1156) completed an online study which included self-report measures as well as a newly developed instrument (Positioning Others and Devices; POD) assessing the closeness to technical devices and social actors. Results showed the smartphone to be the closest device. Further, structural equation modelling lent support for the theoretical model indicating that trust and preoccupation mediate the relationship between closeness to the smartphone and stress and coping. Findings support the concept of companionship as a fruitful approach to explain smartphone-related behaviors.

The relationship between online vigilance and affective well-being in everyday life: Combining smartphone logging with experience sampling

“…More importantly, we extend previous research by providing evidence that the effect of valence is not limited to thoughts about offline interactions, but also applies to thoughts about mediated interactions. This corroborates accounts arguing for smartphones as an ever-present reminder of one's social network (Carolus et al, 2018).…”

Adolescents and handheld advertising: The roles of brand familiarity and smartphone attachment in the processing of mobile advergames

“…Where these studies primarily focus on the disrupting effect of excessive smartphone use on adolescents' lives and cognitions, others argue that smartphone attachment can also help adolescents cope with negative cognitions. Carolus et al (2019), for example, showed that smartphone attachment can serve as a psychological mechanism that helps adolescents cope with smartphone‐related cognitions like stress.…”

Do smartphones and social network sites become more important when experiencing stress? Results from longitudinal data

“…Most studies propose that smartphones cause stress, for example by leading to an extension of working hours and a constant communication pressure ( Hsiao, Shu, & Huang, 2017 ; Hung, Chen, & Lin, 2014 ). However, first findings also point to the opposite direction of influence ( Carolus et al, 2019 ): When people are exposed to a stressful situation, a smartphone can be the “first-aid-in-the-pocket” ( Schneider, Rieger, Hopp, & Rothmund, 2018 ). Due to its multifunctionality and availability, the smartphone can be easily used to release emotions ( Hoffner & Lee, 2015 ), to escape a stressful situation ( Wang, Wang, Gaskin, & Wang, 2015 ), to find relevant information ( van Ingen, Utz & Toepel, 2016 ) or to receive social support ( Petrovčič, Fortunati, Vehovar, Kavčič, & Dolničar, 2015 ) whenever needed.…”

“…Smartphones and especially SNS seem to be coping tools which are often used, and people might rely on them when they are confronted with a stressful situation ( Carolus et al, 2019 ). This reliance on the availability of smartphones, however, has also been associated with a problematic form of use: People were hypothesized to develop “nomophobia” ( King et al, 2014 ).…”