Wellbeing and (Mental) Health: A Quantitative Exploration of Portuguese Young Adults’ Uses of M-Apps from a Gender Perspective

Abstract

Acknowledging the importance of technology in the mental health and wellbeing of individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic, this paper aims to analyse the uses of mobile health applications by young Portuguese adults focusing on the following research question: How do the uses of m-apps by young adults interact with health and wellbeing from a gender perspective? An online survey was conducted to a representative sample of young Portuguese adults (18–30 years), under the objectives of the MyGender project that studies the interconnections of young adults with m-apps, with their technicity and imaginaries. The approach followed in this paper is quantitative-extensive. Results reveal low usage of overall health and wellbeing apps, particularly among single respondents who do not have children. Health and self-tracking apps are among the 10 most frequently used apps. Only 6.20% of the sample considers mental health apps (mHapps) as one of the three most important types of apps. Having children is a factor for a bigger interconnectedness of the respondents with overall health and wellbeing apps and the general quality of care.

Beyond Words: Tapping the Potential of Digital Diaries While Exploring Young Adults’ Experiences on Apps

“…These themes emerged from using the digital diary method, which is both the methodology and the object of study in this paper. Following the MyGender project, the naturalized integration of mobile applications into daily routines is a remarkable finding, thus reinforcing the results of studies developed within the project [37][38][39]43] that established the central role of digital technologies, particularly smartphones and social media platforms, in Portugal young adults' lives. The diaries capture routine activities interconnected with the use of apps.…”

“…There is a strong link between female care for aesthetics and beauty and self-care in terms of health and well-being [41], expressed in the idea of the "self-care imperative" [42]. Other studies have reinforced the idea that "quality of care" is a woman's task, including that of young adults [43,44]. Source: [37].…”

Apps e Jovens Adultos: Contributos para um Mapeamento de Práticas Mediadas

“…A pandemia da COVID-19 trouxe um contexto de obrigatório distanciamento social que alterou a maneira como as pessoas se conectam, aumentando os consumos gerais de média digitais e aplicações móveis, possivelmente de forma a combater o isolamento corpóreo (Banerjee & Rao, 2021;Gomes et al, 2022;Lemenager et al, 2021;Nekliudov et al, 2020;. Devido a esse isolamento, a saúde mental também ganhou relevo no período pandémico, porém, perto de uma em cada 20 pessoas entre os 18 e os 30 anos em Portugal considera as aplicações móveis de saúde mental como uma das três categorias de aplicações mais importantes -como indicam os resultados de um inquérito por questionário online representativo da população de jovens em idade adulta em Portugal (Antunes et al, 2023). Estudos sobre a utilização de aplicações de saúde mental apontam para a tendência de estas aplicações serem sobretudo utilizadas por jovens mulheres altamente qualificadas (Bol et al, 2018;Schomakers et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2021).…”

Scripted Gender Practices: Young Adults’ Social Media App Uses in Portugal

“…The uses of apps by Portuguese young adults are highly massified and significantly mediate social interactions. However, scholars generally warn about the way such uses tend to represent traditional and heteronormative gender roles or to be shaped by their gender and sexual identities (Amaral et al, 2022; Antunes et al, 2023). In fact, such may be the case in evidence particularly regarding dating apps, with around 1 in every 3 Portuguese young adults affirming they have ever used such a category of mobile apps and higher proportions of usages between men and non-heterosexual inquired young adults (Amaral et al, 2022).…”

“…Empirically, we focused on young adults’ self-reported perceptions of mobile apps’ experiences and roles in daily life. We turned to semi-structured interviews with women and men aged between 18 and 30 years living in Portugal, where social media apps are the most popular category of mobile apps among young adults (Antunes et al, 2023). From May to October 2022, we conducted 25 interviews with 9 men and 16 women who were invited to talk about their mediated practices and experiences through a plethora of apps, including social media apps, the ones that concern us here.…”