Introduction: In the present cross-sectional study, we investigated whether reasons for smartphone use are similar to those of social media use. Also, we explored links between reasons of smartphone use and mental health variables (problematic smartphone use, FOMO, depression symptoms, and life satisfaction) in Germany during the COVID-19 lockdown period. Methods: Overall, 571 smartphone users (Mage = 31.60, SDage = 12.73) provided their reasons for smartphone use. The reasons were assigned to six categories by an inductive qualitative content analysis. Results: Five of six reasons were similar to those of social media described by previous research. “Search for social interaction” goes along with less problematic smartphone use and depression symptoms and more life satisfaction. “Search for positive feelings” is associated with lower life satisfaction. More depressed people, those with problematic smartphone use tendencies, higher FOMO, and lower life satisfaction tend to “escape from negative emotions.” Discussion: Our results help to understand the relationships between reasons for smartphone use and mental health variables.

1.
Elhai
JD
,
Yang
H
,
McKay
D
,
Asmundson
GJG
.
COVID-19 anxiety symptoms associated with problematic smartphone use severity in Chinese adults
.
J Affect Disord
.
2020
;
274
:
576
82
.
2.
Billieux
J
,
Maurage
P
,
Lopez-Fernandez
O
,
Kuss
DJ
,
Griffiths
MD
.
Can disordered mobile phone use be considered a behavioral addiction? An update on current evidence and a comprehensive model for future research
.
Curr Addict Rep
.
2015
;
2
:
156
62
.
3.
Jung
Y
.
What a smartphone is to me: understanding user values in using smartphones
.
Inf Syst
.
2014
;
24
(
4
):
299
321
.
4.
Gezgin
DM
,
Mihci
C
.
Smartphone addiction in undergraduate athletes: reasons and effects of using Instagram intensively
.
Int J Educ Technol High Educ
.
2020
;
4
(
3
):
188
202
.
5.
Busch
PA
,
Hausvik
GI
,
Ropstad
OK
,
Pettersen
D
.
Smartphone usage among older adults
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2021
;
121
:
106783
.
6.
Enez Darcin
A
,
Kose
S
,
Noyan
CO
,
Nurmedov
S
,
Yilmaz
O
,
Dilbaz
N
.
Smartphone addiction and its relationship with social anxiety and loneliness
.
Behav Inf Technol
.
2016
;
35
(
7
):
520
5
.
7.
Bianchi
A
,
Phillips
JG
.
Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use
.
Cyberpsychol Behav
.
2005
;
8
(
1
):
39
51
.
8.
Horwood
S
,
Anglim
J
.
Personality and problematic smartphone use: a facet-level analysis using the Five Factor Model and HEXACO frameworks
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2018
;
85
:
349
59
.
9.
Lachmann
B
,
Sindermann
C
,
Sariyska
RY
,
Luo
R
,
Melchers
MC
,
Becker
B
, et al
.
The role of empathy and life satisfaction in internet and smartphone use disorder
.
Front Psychol
.
2018
;
9
:
398
.
10.
Duke
E
,
Montag
C
.
Smartphone addiction, daily interruptions and self-reported productivity
.
Addict Behav Rep
.
2017
;
6
:
90
5
.
11.
Horwood
S
,
Anglim
J
.
Problematic smartphone usage and subjective and psychological well-being
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2019
;
97
:
44
50
.
12.
Wang
J
,
Wang
P
,
Yang
X
,
Zhang
G
,
Wang
X
,
Zhao
F
, et al
.
Fear of missing out and procrastination as mediators between sensation seeking and adolescent smartphone addiction
.
Int J Ment Health Addict
.
2019
;
17
(
4
):
1049
62
.
13.
Kim
K
,
Milne
GR
,
Bahl
S
.
Smartphone addiction and mindfulness: an intergenerational comparison
.
Int J Pharm Healthc Mark
.
2018
;
12
(
1
):
25
43
.
14.
Lee
H
,
Kim
JW
,
Choi
TY
.
Risk factors for smartphone addiction in Korean adolescents: smartphone use patterns
.
J Korean Med Sci
.
2017
;
32
(
10
):
1674
9
.
15.
Park
J
,
Jeong
JE
,
Rho
MJ
.
Predictors of habitual and addictive smartphone behavior in problematic smartphone use
.
Psychiatry Res
.
2021
;
18
(
2
):
118
25
.
16.
Tran
JA
,
Yang
KS
,
Davis
K
,
Hiniker
A
.
Modeling the engagement-disengagement cycle of compulsive phone use
.
Proceedings of the 2019 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems (CHI '19)
.
New York, NY
:
Association for Computing Machinery
;
2019
. p.
1
14
. paper 312.
17.
Gosh
P
.
Smartphone addiction: new disorder or just a hype
.
Clin Psychiatry
.
2020
;
6
(
1
):
66
.
18.
Matar Boumosleh
J
,
Jaalouk
D
.
Depression, anxiety, and smartphone addiction in university students: a cross sectional study
.
PloS One
.
2017
;
12
(
8
):
e0182239
.
19.
American Psychiatric Association
.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental Disorders
. 5th ed.
Washington, DC
:
American Psychiatric Association
;
2013
.
20.
Hwang
KH
,
Yoo
YS
,
Cho
OH
.
Smartphone overuse and upper extremity pain, anxiety, depression, and interpersonal relationships among college students
.
J Kor Cont Assoc
.
2012
;
12
(
10
):
365
75
.
21.
Demirci
K
,
Akgönül
M
,
Akpinar
A
.
Relationship of smartphone use severity with sleep quality, depression, and anxiety in university students
.
J Behav Addict
.
2015
;
4
(
2
):
85
92
.
22.
Alhassan
AA
,
Alqadhib
EM
,
Taha
NW
,
Alahmari
RA
,
Salam
M
,
Almutairi
AF
.
The relationship between addiction to smartphone usage and depression among adults: a cross sectional study
.
BMC Psychiatry
.
2018
;
18
(
1
):
148
8
.
23.
Rozgonjuk
D
,
Levine
JC
,
Hall
BJ
,
Elhai
JD
.
The association between problematic smartphone use, depression and anxiety symptom severity, and objectively measured smartphone use over one week
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2018
;
87
:
10
7
.
24.
Brailovskaia
J
,
Schillack
H
,
Margraf
J
.
Tell me why are you using social media (SM)! Relationship between reasons for use of SM, SM flow, daily stress, depression, anxiety, and addictive SM use: an exploratory investigation of young adults in Germany
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2020
;
113
:
106511
.
25.
Przybylski
AK
,
Murayama
K
,
DeHaan
CR
,
Gladwell
V
.
Motivational, emotional, and behavioral correlates of fear of missing out
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2013
;
29
(
4
):
1841
8
.
26.
Elhai
JD
,
Levine
JC
,
Dvorak
RD
,
Hall
BJ
.
Fear of missing out, need for touch, anxiety and depression are related to problematic smartphone use
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2016
;
63
:
509
16
.
27.
O’Connell
C
.
How FOMO (fear of missing out), the smartphone, and social media may be affecting university students in the middle east
.
N Am J Psychol
.
2020
;
22
(
1
):
83
102
.
28.
Wolniewicz
CA
,
Tiamiyu
MF
,
Weeks
JW
,
Elhai
JD
.
Problematic smartphone use and relations with negative affect, fear of missing out, and fear of negative and positive evaluation
.
Psychiatry Res
.
2018
;
262
:
618
23
.
29.
Brown
L
,
Kuss
DJ
.
Fear of missing out, mental wellbeing, and social connectedness: a seven-day social media abstinence trial
.
Int J Environ Res Public Health
.
2020
;
17
(
12
):
4566
.
30.
Wang
P
,
Wang
X
,
Nie
J
,
Zeng
P
,
Liu
K
,
Wang
J
, et al
.
Envy and problematic smartphone use: the mediating role of FOMO and the moderating role of student-student relationship
.
Pers Individ Dif
.
2019
;
146
:
136
42
.
31.
Elhai
JD
,
Levine
JC
,
Alghraibeh
AM
,
Alafnan
AA
,
Aldraiweesh
AA
,
Hall
BJ
.
Fear of missing out: testing relationships with negative affectivity, online social engagement, and problematic smartphone use
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2018
;
89
:
289
98
. https://doi.org/
32.
Li
L
,
Griffiths
MD
,
Mei
S
,
Niu
Z
.
Fear of missing out and smartphone addiction mediates the relationship between positive and negative affect and sleep quality among Chinese university students
.
Front Psychiatry
.
2020
;
11
:
877
.
33.
Dou
F
,
Li
Q
,
Li
X
,
Li
Q
,
Wang
M
.
Impact of perceived social support on fear of missing out (FoMO): a moderated mediation model
.
Curr Psychol
.
2021
;
42
(
1
):
63
72
.
34.
Chui
RCF
.
Smartphone usage, social relations and life satisfaction of Hong Kong college students
. In:
Ma
WWK
,
Yuen
AHK
,
Park
J
,
Lau
WWF
, editors.
New media, knowledge practices and multiliteracies. HKAECT 2014 International Conference
.
Singapore
:
Springer
;
2015
. p.
171
8
.
35.
Rotondi
V
,
Stanca
L
,
Tomasuolo
M
.
Connecting alone: smartphone use, quality of social interactions and well-being
.
J Econ Psychol
.
2017
;
63
:
17
26
.
36.
Kula
H
,
Ayhan
C
,
Soyer
F
,
Kaçay
Z
.
The relationship between smartphone addiction and life satisfaction: faculty of sport sciences students
.
Int J Educ Psychol
.
2020
;
7
(
1
):
86
95
.
37.
Csikszentmihalyi
M
,
LeFevre
J
.
Optimal experience in work and leisure
.
J Pers Soc Psychol
.
1989
;
56
(
5
):
815
22
.
38.
Pearson Ba
AD
,
Young
CM
,
Shank Ma
F
,
Neighbors
C
.
Flow mediates the relationship between problematic smartphone use and satisfaction with life among college students
.
J Am Coll Health
.
2023
;
71
(
4
):
1018
26
.
39.
Samaha
M
,
Hawi
NS
.
Relationships among smartphone addiction, stress, academic performance, and satisfaction with life
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2016
;
57
:
321
5
.
40.
Son
JS
,
Chen
CC
.
Does using a smartphone for work purposes “ruin” your leisure? Examining the role of smartphone use in work-leisure conflict and life satisfaction
.
J Leis Res
.
2018
;
49
(
3–5
):
236
57
.
41.
Longstreet
P
,
Brooks
S
.
Life satisfaction: a key to managing internet & social media addiction
.
Technol Soc
.
2017
;
50
:
73
7
.
42.
Greenspoon
PJ
,
Saklofske
DH
.
Toward an integration of subjective well-being and psychopathology
.
Soc Indic Res
.
2001
;
54
(
1
):
81
108
.
43.
Horvath
J
,
Mundinger
C
,
Schmitgen
MM
,
Wolf
ND
,
Sambataro
F
,
Hirjak
D
, et al
.
Structural and functional correlates of smartphone addiction
.
Addict Behav
.
2020
;
105
:
106334
.
44.
Sha
P
,
Sariyska
R
,
Riedl
R
,
Lachmann
B
,
Montag
C
.
Linking internet communication and smartphone use disorder by taking a closer look at the Facebook and WhatsApp applications
.
Addict Behav Rep
.
2019
;
9
:
100148
.
45.
Brailovskaia
J
,
Delveaux
J
,
John
J
,
Wicker
V
,
Noveski
A
,
Kim
S
, et al
.
Finding the “sweet spot” of smartphone use: reduction or abstinence to increase well-being and healthy lifestyle?! An experimental intervention study
.
J Exp Psychol Appl
.
2023
;
29
(
1
):
149
61
.
46.
Rozgonjuk
D
,
Sindermann
C
,
Elhai
JD
,
Christensen
AP
,
Montag
C
.
Associations between symptoms of problematic smartphone, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram use: an item-level exploratory graph analysis perspective
.
J Behav Addict
.
2020
;
9
(
3
):
686
97
.
47.
Precht
LM
,
Mertens
F
,
Brickau
DS
,
Kramm
RJ
,
Margraf
J
,
Stirnberg
J
, et al
.
Engaging in physical activity instead of (over)using the smartphone: an experimental investigation of lifestyle interventions to prevent problematic smartphone use and to promote mental health
.
J Public Health
.
2023
;
32
(
4
):
589
607
.
48.
Andreassen
CS
,
Pallesen
S
,
Griffiths
MD
.
The relationship between addictive use of social media, narcissism, and self-esteem: findings from a large national survey
.
Addict Behav
.
2017
;
64
:
287
93
.
49.
Brailovskaia
J
,
Margraf
J
.
Addictive social media use during Covid-19 outbreak: validation of the Bergen Social Media Addiction Scale (BSMAS) and investigation of protective factors in nine countries
.
Curr Psychol
.
2022
:
1
19
.
50.
Lai
C
,
Altavilla
D
,
Ronconi
A
,
Aceto
P
.
Fear of missing out (FOMO) is associated with activation of the right middle temporal gyrus during inclusion social cue
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2016
;
61
:
516
21
.
51.
Lovibond
PF
,
Lovibond
SH
.
The structure of negative emotional states: comparison of the depression anxiety stress scales (DASS) with the beck depression and anxiety inventories
.
Behav Res Ther
.
1995
;
33
(
3
):
335
43
.
52.
Moya
E
,
Larson
LM
,
Stewart
RC
,
Fisher
J
,
Mwangi
MN
,
Phiri
KS
.
Reliability and validity of depression anxiety stress scale (DASS)-21 in screening for common mental disorders among postpartum women in Malawi
.
BMC Psychiatry
.
2022
;
22
(
1
):
352
.
53.
Diener
E
,
Emmons
RA
,
Larsen
RJ
,
Griffin
S
.
The satisfaction with life scale
.
J Pers Assess
.
1985
;
49
(
1
):
71
5
.
54.
Mayring
P
.
Qualitative inhaltsanalyse
. In:
Mey
G
, editor.
Handbuch Qualitative Forschung in der Psychologie
.
Wiesbaden
:
VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften
. p.
601
13
.
55.
Cohen
J
.
A coefficient of agreement for nominal scales
.
Educ Psychol Meas
.
1960
;
20
(
1
):
37
46
.
56.
Landis
J
,
Koch
G
.
The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data
.
Biometrics
.
1977
;
33
(
1
):
159
74
.
57.
Bavli
Ö
,
Katra
H
,
Günar
BB
.
Investigation of smartphone addiction levels among university students
.
UKSAD
.
2018
;
4
(
1
):
326
33
.
58.
Robinson
T
,
Cronin
T
,
Ibrahim
H
,
Jinks
M
,
Molitor
T
,
Newman
J
, et al
.
Smartphone use and acceptability among clinical medical students: a questionnaire-based study
.
J Med Syst
.
2013
;
37
(
3
):
9936
7
.
59.
Boumosleh
J
,
Jaalouk
D
.
Smartphone addiction among university students and its relationship with academic performance
.
Glob J Health Sci
.
2017
;
10
(
1
):
48
59
.
60.
Baumeister
RF
,
Leary
MR
.
The need to belong: desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation
.
Psychol Bull
.
1995
;
117
(
3
):
497
529
.
61.
Van Deursen
AJAM
,
Bolle
CL
,
Hegner
SM
,
Kommers
PAM
.
Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior: the role of smartphone usage types, emotional intelligence, social stress, self-regulation, age, and gender
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2015
;
45
:
411
20
.
62.
Pielot
M
,
Dingler
T
,
Pedro
JS
,
Oliver
N
.
When attention is not scarce: detecting boredom from mobile phone usage
. Proceedings of the 2015 ACM international joint conference on pervasive and ubiquitous computing.
New York, NY
:
Association for Computing Machinery
;
2015
.
63.
Lukoff
K
,
Yu
C
,
Kientz
J
,
Hiniker
A
.
What makes smartphone use meaningful or meaningless
.
Proc ACM Interact Mob Wearable Ubiquitous Technol
.
2018
;
2
(
1
):
1
26
.
64.
Rozgonjuk
D
,
Elhai
JD
.
Emotion regulation in relation to smartphone use: process smartphone use mediates the association between expressive suppression and problematic smartphone use
.
Curr Psychol
.
2019
;
40
(
7
):
3246
55
.
65.
Squires
LR
,
Hollett
KB
,
Hesson
J
,
Harris
N
.
Psychological distress, emotion dysregulation, and coping behaviour: a theoretical perspective of problematic smartphone use
.
Int J Ment Health Addict
.
2020
;
19
(
4
):
1284
99
.
66.
Brailovskaia
J
,
Rohmann
E
,
Bierhoff
HW
,
Schillack
H
,
Margraf
J
.
The relationship between daily stress, social support and Facebook Addiction Disorder
.
Psychiatry Res
.
2019
;
276
:
167
74
.
67.
Thomée
S
,
Härenstam
A
,
Hagberg
M
.
Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults: a prospective cohort study
.
BMC public health
.
2011
;
11
(
1
):
66
11
.
68.
Chan
M
.
Mobile-mediated multimodal communications, relationship quality and subjective well-being: an analysis of smartphone use from a life course perspective
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2018
;
87
:
254
62
.
69.
Fong
LHN
,
Lam
LW
,
Law
R
.
How locus of control shapes intention to reuse mobile apps for making hotel reservations: evidence from Chinese consumers
.
Tour Manag
.
2017
;
61
:
331
42
.
70.
Derks
D
,
Bakker
AB
.
The impact of e-mail communication on organizational life
.
Cyberpsychology
.
2010
;
4
(
1
). Article 4.
71.
Derks
D
,
van Mierlo
H
,
Schmitz
EB
.
A diary study on work-related smartphone use, psychological detachment and exhaustion: examining the role of the perceived segmentation norm
.
J Occup Health Psychol
.
2014
;
19
(
1
):
74
84
.
72.
Elhai
JD
,
Levine
JC
,
Dvorak
RD
,
Hall
BJ
.
Non-social features of smartphone use are most related to depression, anxiety and problematic smartphone use
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2017
;
69
:
75
82
.
73.
Casale
M
,
Wild
L
,
Cluver
L
,
Kuo
C
.
Social support as a protective factor for depression among women caring for children in HIV-endemic South Africa
.
J Behav Med
.
2015
;
38
(
1
):
17
27
.
74.
Oh
HJ
,
Ozkaya
E
,
LaRose
R
.
How does online social networking enhance life satisfaction? The relationships among online supportive interaction, affect, perceived social support, sense of community, and life satisfaction
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2014
;
30
:
69
78
.
75.
Wang
Z
,
Yang
X
,
Zhang
X
.
Relationships among boredom proneness, sensation seeking and smartphone addiction among Chinese college students: mediating roles of pastime, flow experience and self-regulation
.
Technol Soc
.
2020
;
62
:
101319
.
76.
Yang
XJ
,
Liu
QQ
,
Lian
SL
,
Zhou
ZK
.
Are bored minds more likely to be addicted? The relationship between boredom proneness and problematic mobile phone use
.
Addict Behav
.
2020
;
108
:
106426
.
77.
Bozaci
I
.
The effect of boredom proneness on smartphone addiction and impulse purchasing: a field study with young consumers in Turkey
.
J Asian Finance Econ Bus
.
2020
;
7
(
7
):
509
17
.
78.
Elhai
JD
,
Vasquez
JK
,
Lustgarten
SD
,
Levine
JC
,
Hall
BJ
.
Proneness to boredom mediates relationships between problematic smartphone use with depression and anxiety severity
.
Soc Sci Comput Rev
.
2018
;
36
(
6
):
707
20
.
79.
Diefenbach
S
,
Borrmann
K
.
The smartphone as a pacifier and its consequences: young adults’ smartphone usage in moments of solitude and correlations to self-reflection
. Proceedings of the 2019 CHI conference on human factors in computing systems.
New York, NY
:
Association for Computing Machinery
;
2019
.
80.
Elhai
JD
,
Yang
H
,
Dempsey
AE
,
Montag
C
.
Rumination and negative smartphone use expectancies are associated with greater levels of problematic smartphone use: a latent class analysis smartphone use expectancies are associated with greater levels of problematic smartphone use: a latent class analysis
.
Psychiatry Res
.
2020
;
285
:
112845
.
81.
Fortes
AB
,
Broilo
PL
,
Lisboa
CSM
.
Smartphone use and psychological well-being: the moderating role of emotion regulation
.
Trends Psychol
.
2021
;
29
(
2
):
189
203
.
82.
Mahapatra
S
.
Smartphone addiction and associated consequences: role of loneliness and self-regulation
.
Behav Inf Technol
.
2019
;
38
(
8
):
833
44
.
83.
Zilka
GC
.
Аlways with them: smartphone use by children, adolescents, and young adults - characteristics, habits of use, sharing, and satisfaction of needs
.
Univers Access Inf Soc
.
2020
;
19
(
1
):
145
55
.
84.
Ninaus
K
,
Diehl
S
,
Terlutter
R
,
Chan
K
,
Huang
A
.
Benefits and stressors: perceived effects of ICT use on employee health and work stress – an exploratory study from Austria and Hong Kong
.
Int J Qual Stud Health Well-Being
.
2015
;
10
:
28838
.
85.
Brailovskaia
J
,
Margraf
J
.
The relationship between burden caused by coronavirus (COVID-19), addictive social media use, sense of control and anxiety
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2021
;
119
:
106720
.
86.
Bian
M
,
Leung
L
.
Linking loneliness, shyness, smartphone addiction symptoms, and patterns of smartphone use to social capital
.
Soc Sci Comput
.
2015
;
33
(
1
):
61
79
.
87.
Mazzoni
E
,
Baiocco
L
,
Cannata
D
,
Dimas
I
.
Is internet the cherry on top or a crutch? Offline social support as moderator of the outcomes of online social support on Problematic Internet Use
.
Comput Hum Behav
.
2016
;
56
:
369
74
.
88.
Hosseini
S
,
Rezaei
A
,
Kazemi
S
,
Samani
S
.
The effectiveness of motivational interviewing on social network dependency
.
JEE
.
2020
;
3
(
1
):
71
84
.
89.
Antonovsky A. Salutogenese
.
Zur Entmystifizierung der Gesundheit
.
Forum für Verhaltenstherapie und psychosoziale Praxis
.
Tübingen
:
Dgvt-Verlag
;
1997
.
Vol. 36
.
90.
Sañudo
B
,
Fennell
C
,
Sánchez-Oliver
AJ
.
Objectively-assessed physical activity, sedentary behavior, smartphone use, and sleep patterns pre- and during COVID-19 quarantine in young adults from Spain activity, sedentary behavior, smartphone use, and sleep patterns pre- and during COVID-19 quarantine in young adults from Spain
.
Sustainability
.
2020
;
12
(
15
):
5890
.
91.
Conway
JM
,
Lance
CE
.
What reviewers should expect from authors regarding common method bias in organizational research
.
J Bus Psychol
.
2010
;
25
(
3
):
325
34
.
92.
Kwon
M
,
Kim
DJ
,
Cho
H
,
Yang
S
.
The smartphone addiction scale: development and validation of a short version for adolescents
.
PLoS One
.
2013
;
8
(
12
):
e83558
.
You do not currently have access to this content.