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Conroy, Dom, Chadwick, Darren, Fullwood, Christopher and Lloyd, Joanne (2022) "You have to know how to live with it without getting to the addiction part": British young adult experiences of smartphone over-reliance and disconnectivity. Psychology of Popular Media, 12 (4). pp. 471-480. ISSN 2689-6575
Smartphone usage offers undeniable upsides (social connectivity, increased productivity). However, the ever-expanding utilities of smartphones have prompted debate around device over-reliance, which has prompted interest in ‘digital detox’, ‘technology pushback’ and ‘disconnectivity’. We report an in-depth qualitative exploration of perceptions of smartphone over-reliance and experiences of attempting to modify usage (i.e., efforts to disconnect) among fourteen 18-30-year-old university students. Semi-structured interview transcripts were subjected to interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). A first theme – ‘It’s like an addiction’ – concerned the drift from valuing the convenience/productivity afforded by smartphones into feeling over-reliant on devices. Over-reliance could hinder meeting basic needs, limit time for valued pastimes and could unsettle feelings of agency. A second theme – ‘It’s difficult to maintain abstinence’ - concerned barriers to modification efforts, including fearing possible social repercussions, transferring attention to other Internet-affording devices, and self-deception. This article highlights how modifying habitual usage patterns may be challenging and encourages debate around how ‘smartphone over-reliance’ could be framed.
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