The Smartphone "Addiction" Narrative is Compelling, but Largely Unfounded

Abstract

Smartphone "addiction" concerns have increased steadily over the past decade. Mainstream media perpetuates these fears, often building on scholarly research in an extreme and dramatized style (e.g., comparing smartphones to heroin and cocaine, claiming that smartphones have destroyed a generation, etc.). We review how the relationship between scholarly research and media outlets engender the idea that smartphones are a danger and perpetuate the view that addiction is a widespread phenomenon. We further explore the origins of 'addiction' measures for technology use and argue that such measures are not sufficient in assessing clinical pathology. We end with preliminary findings from an experimental and interview study of smartphones with parents and teens and explore the role of "addiction" narratives for individual interpretations of smartphone use.