Smartphone Addiction Among Greek University Students

OBJECTIVES: Increased smartphone usage is often associated with negative impacts on the psychological and social well-being of young individuals. While the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) do not formally acknowledge excessive smartphone use as a clinical disorder, various elements of this behavior seem to exhibit parallels with established behavioral addictions. This research explores the impact of increased smartphone usage on personal and social aspects of students’ lives.

METHODS: The research was conducted between March and June 2023, via questionnaires distributed to 1,744 students from various departments of the University of Piraeus in Greece. The questionnaire included social-demographic questions, health behavior questions, questions about smartphone use habits, as well as the Short Version of Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV). The Spearman’s correlation coefficients were calculated to explore the association between the SAS-SV score and the other aforementioned variables.

RESULTS: In total, 46.35% of the students that participated on this research can be considered addicted to smartphones, based on the cut-off point of 31 for men and 33 for women on the SAS-SV score. Indeed, we find that female students tend to score higher at the SAS-SV score. Moreover, SAS-SV score was positively correlated with alcohol consumption and feeling of anxiety and/or depression, while age, self-perceived health and exercising were negatively correlated. Smoking and grades, as well as the number of household members and the number of kids within the household, showed no correlation with the SAS-SV score.

CONCLUSIONS: Over the last decade, the widespread adoption of smartphones among young people has paralleled a concerning rise in poor mental health within this age group. Indeed, evidence of conflict, salience, tolerance and withdrawal were observed in the sample concerning smartphone addiction. This highlights the evolving public health concern surrounding problematic smartphone use, especially in younger ages.