Objective Recordings of Instant Messaging and Social Network App Usage are associated with Self-reported Tendencies towards Smartphone Use Disorder: The distinctive Role of Image-Based Apps (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Online social communication via instant messaging (IM) and social networking (SN) applications make up for a large part of the time smartphone users spend on their devices. Previous research indicates that the excessive use of these applications positively associates with smartphone-related addictive behaviors. In particular, image-based SN apps, such as Instagram and Snapchat, have been shown to exert stronger detrimental effects than traditional apps, such as Facebook and Twitter. OBJECTIVE We investigate the correlation between individual tendency towards smartphone use disorder (SmUD) and objective measures of frequency of smartphone usage. Additionally, we explore a mediation pathway linking frequency of actual smartphone usage and self-reported tendencies towards SmUD by route of increased frequency of usage of IM and SN apps. METHODS We recruited a sample of N = 124 adult smartphone users (62.9% females; mean age of M=23.84 (SD = 8.29) years) and collected objective information about the frequency of smartphone and SN app usage over one week. Participants also filled in a self-report measure assessing multiple components of tendencies toward smartphone use disorder. Bivariate associations were investigated using Spearman correlations. A parallel mediation analysis was implemented via multiple regression analysis. RESULTS The frequency of smartphone usage, as well as the use of IM apps (Messenger, Telegram, WhatsApp), Facebook, and image-based apps (Instagram, Snapchat), had significant positive associations with at least one component of a smartphone use disorder, with the facet cyberspace-oriented relationships exhibiting the strongest associations. We find support for an indirect effect linking actual smartphone usage and smartphone use disorder tendencies via frequency of use of image-based SN apps. CONCLUSIONS This novel result sheds light on the factors promoting smartphone use disorder and essentially indicates the features implemented in the considered image-based SN apps as being potentially more “addictive” than those available in IM apps and traditional SN apps, such as Facebook.