research-article

A vicious circle between children’s non-communicative smartphone use and loneliness: : Parents cannot do much about it

Authors:

Jörg MatthesAuthors Info & Claims

Volume 64, Issue C

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tele.2021.101677

Published: 01 November 2021 Publication History

Highlights

•

A two-wave panel survey among parent–child pairs.

•

Non-communicative smartphone use increased loneliness over time.

•

Loneliness increased children’s non-communicative smartphone use over time.

•

Parental mediation does not moderate these associations.

Abstract

Children are increasingly using their own smartphones for communicative and non-communicative purposes. In fact, studies showed that different ways of using the smartphone might influence loneliness, and as a consequence, loneliness might also enhance further engagement with the smartphone. In this context, parents play an important role because they can regulate children’s smartphone use. The present study tested the moderating role of active and restrictive parental mediation on the relations between different types of smartphone use and children’s loneliness. We conducted a two-wave panel survey among 10- to 14-year-old children and their parents, resulting in total of 384 parent–child pairs at Time 2. Our results revealed that non-communicative use at Time 1 increased loneliness at Time 2. We also found a reciprocal influence, that is, loneliness at Time 1 increased children’s non-communicative use at Time 2. We found no moderating influence of active and restrictive parental mediation on the relations between children’s smartphone use and loneliness. Our findings are discussed against the background of the poor-get-poorer effect regarding smartphone use.

References

[1]

P. Adachi, T. Willoughby, Interpreting effect sizes when controlling for stability effects in longitudinal autoregressive models: Implications for psychological science, European Journal of Developmental Psychology 12 (1) (2015) 116–128,.

[2]

M. Appel, P. Holtz, B. Stiglbauer, B. Batinic, Parents as a resource: Communication quality affects the relationship between adolescents' internet use and loneliness, Journal of Adolescence 35 (6) (2012) 1641–1648,.

[3]

S.R. Asher, J.A. Paquette, Loneliness and peer relations in childhood, Retrieved from Current Directions in Psychological Science (2003) 75–78. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20182843.

[4]

Berg/Bitkom, 2019. Kinder und Jugend in der digitalen Welt. Berlin, 28. Mai 2019. Retrieved from: https://www.bitkom.org/sites/default/files/2019-05/bitkom_pk-charts_kinder_und_jugendliche_2019.pdf.

[5]

I. Beyens, K. Beullens, Parent – child conflict about children’s tablet use: The role of parental mediation, New Media & Society 19 (12) (2017) 2075–2093,.

[6]

I. Beyens, P.M. Valkenburg, Parental media mediation in adolescence: A comparative study of parent and adolescent reports, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 63 (4) (2019) 716–736,.

[7]

Bonetti, L., Campbell, M. A., Gilmore, L., 2010. The relationship of loneliness and social anxiety with children’s and adolescents’ online communication. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 13, 279–285. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2009.0215.

[8]

U. Bronfenbrenner, Ecological systems theory, in: R. Vasta (Ed.), Six theories of child development: Revised formulations and current issues, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 1992, pp. 187–249.

[9]

M. Buijzen, P.M. Valkenburg, Parental mediation of undesired advertising effects, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 49 (2) (2005) 153–165,.

[10]

J.R. Bullock, Children’s loneliness and their relationships with family and peers, Fam. Relat. 42 (1993) 46–49,.

[11]

M. Burke, R.E. Kraut, The relationship between Facebook use and well-being depends on communication type and tie strength, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 21 (4) (2016) 265–281,.

Digital Library

[12]

A. Carolus, J.F. Binder, R. Muench, C. Schmidt, F. Schneider, S.L. Buglass, Smartphones as digital companions: Characterizing the relationship between users and their phones, New Media & Society 21 (4) (2019) 914–938,.

[13]

M. Chan, Mobile phones and the good life: Examining the relationship among mobile use, social capital and subjective well-being, New Media & Society 17 (2015) 96–113,.

[14]

M. Chan, Mobile-mediated multimodal communications, relationship quality and subjective well-being: An analysis of smartphone use from a life course perspective, Comput. Hum. Behav. 87 (2018) 254–262,.

Digital Library

[15]

M. Chan, X. Li, Smartphones and psychological well-being in China: Examining direct and indirect relationships through social support and relationship satisfaction, Telematics Inform. 54 (2020) 101469,.

[16]

L.S. Clark, Parental mediation theory for the digital age, Communication Theory 21 (2011) 323–343,.

[17]

F. Deters, M.R. Mehl, Does posting facebook status updates increase or decrease loneliness? An online social networking experiment, Social Psychological and Personality Science 4 (5) (2013) 579–586,.

[18]

A. Dürager, N. Sonck, Testing the reliability of scales on parental internet mediation, Retrieved from, EU Kids Online, 2014.

[19]

L. Festinger, A theory of social comparison processes, Human Relations 7 (2) (1954) 117–140,.

[20]

E. Frison, S. Eggermont, Toward an integrated and differential approach to the relationship between loneliness, different types of Facebook use and adolescents’ depressed mood, Communication Research 1–28 (2015),.

[21]

E. Frison, S. Eggermont, “Harder, better, faster, stronger”: Negative comparison on Facebook and adolescents’ life satisfaction are reciprocally related, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 19 (3) (2016) 158–164,.

[22]

D. Gordon-Messer, J.A. Bauermeister, A. Grodzinski, M. Zimmerman, Sexting among young adults, J. Adolesc. Health 52 (3) (2013) 301–306,.

[23]

L. Haddon, J. Vincent, UK children’s experience of smartphones and tablets: perspectives from children, parents and teachers, Net Children Go Mobile, LSE, London, 2015, Retrieved from http://netchildrengomobile.eu/reports/.

[24]

E.L. Hamaker, R.M. Kuiper, R.P.P.P. Grasman, A critique of the cross-lagged panel model, Psychol. Methods 20 (2015) 102–116,.

[25]

D. Hefner, K. Knop, S. Schmitt, P. Vorderer, Rules? Role Model? Relationship? The impact of parents on their children’s problematic mobile phone involvement, Media Psychology 22 (1) (2019) 82–108,.

[26]

H. Huang, L. Leung, Instant messaging addiction among teenagers in China: Shyness, alienation, and academic performance decrement, Cyberpsychology & Behavior 12 (6) (2009) 675–679,.

[27]

Hwang, Y., Choi, I., Yum, J., Jeong, S., 2017. Parental mediation regarding children’s smartphone use: Role of protection motivation and parenting style. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking, 20, 362–368. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2016.0555.

[28]

B. Jin, How lonely people use and perceive Facebook, Comput. Hum. Behav. 29 (6) (2013) 2463–2470,.

Digital Library

[29]

H.D. Johnson, J.C. LaVoie, M.C. Spenceri, M.A. Mahoney-Wernli, Peer conflict avoidance: Associations with loneliness, social anxiety, and social avoidance, Psychol. Rep. 88 (1) (2001) 227–235,.

[30]

D. Kardefelt-Winther, A conceptual and methodological critique of internet addiction research: Towards a model of compensatory internet use, Comput. Hum. Behav. 31 (2014) 351–354,.

Digital Library

[31]

J. Kim, R. LaRose, W. Peng, Loneliness as the cause and the effect of problematic Internet use: The relationship between Internet use and psychological well-being, Cyberpsychology & behavior 12 (4) (2009) 451–455,.

[32]

Knop, K., Hefner, D., Schmitt, S., Vorderer, P., 2015. Mediatisierung mobil. Handy- und Internetnutzung von Kindern und Jugendlichen. Schriftenreihe Medienforschung der Landesanstalt für Medien Nordrhein-Westfalen (LfM), Band 77. Lepizig: Vistas.

[33]

Kraut, R., Kiesler, S., Boneva, B., Cummings, J., Helgeson, V., Crawford, A., 2002. Internet paradox revisited. Journal of Social Issues, 58,49–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-4560.00248.

[34]

R. Kraut, M. Patterson, V. Lundmark, S. Kiesler, T. Mukophadhyay, W. Scherlis, Internet paradox: A social technology that reduces social involvement and psychological well-being?, Am. Psychol. 53 (9) (1998) 1017–1031.

[35]

B. Laursen, A.C. Hartl, Understanding loneliness during adolescence: Developmental changes that increase the risk of perceived social isolation, Journal of Adolescence 36 (6) (2013) 1261–1268,.

[36]

S.J. Lee, Online communication and adolescent social ties: Who benefits more from internet use?, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 14 (2009) 509–531,.

[37]

S.-J. Lee, Y.-G. Chae, Balancing participation and risks in children’s internet use: The role of internet literacy and parental mediation, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 15 (5) (2012) 257–262,.

[38]

R. Lemieux, S. Lajoie, N.E. Trainor, Affinity-seeking, social loneliness, and social avoidance among facebook users, Psychol. Rep. 112 (2) (2013) 545–552,.

[39]

S. Livingstone, E.J. Helsper, Parental mediation of children’s internet use, Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 52 (4) (2008) 581–599,.

[40]

Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Dreier, M., Chaudron, S., Lagae, K., 2015. How parents of young children manage digital devices at home: The role of income, education and parental style. https://eprints.lse.ac.uk.

[41]

Lwin, M. O., Stanaland, A. J. S., Miyazaki, A. D., 2008. Protecting children’s privacy online How parental mediation strategies affect website safeguard effectiveness. Journal of Retailing, 84, 205–217. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2008.04.004.

[42]

N.E. Mahon, A. Yarcheski, T.J. Yarcheski, B.L. Cannella, M.M. Hanks, A meta-analytic study of predictors for loneliness during adolescence, Nurs. Res. 55 (6) (2006) 446–447,.

[43]

J. Matthes, M.F. Thomas, A. Stevic, D. Schmuck, Fighting over smartphones? Parents' excessive smartphone use, lack of control over children's use, and conflict, Comput. Hum. Behav. 116 (2021) 106618,.

[44]

S. Matook, J. Cummings, H. Bala, Are you feeling lonely? The impact of relationship characteristics and online social network features on loneliness, Journal of Management Information Systems 31 (4) (2015) 278–310,.

[45]

L. McCay-Peet, A. Quan-Haase, What is social media and what questions can social media research help us answer?, in: L. Sloan, A. Quan-Haase (Eds.), The SAGE Handbook of Social Media Research Methods, Sage, London, 2017, pp. 13–26.

[46]

A. Meeus, I. Beyens, F. Geusens, A.K. Sodermans, K. Beullens, Managing positive and negative media effects among adolescents: Parental mediation matters – but not always, Journal of Family Communication 18 (4) (2018) 270–285,.

[47]

G.S. Mesch, Parental mediation, online activities, and cyberbullying, CyberPsychology & Behavior 12 (4) (2009) 387–393,.

[48]

A.I. Nathanson, Identifying and explaining the relationship between parental mediation and children’s aggression, Communication Research 26 (2) (1999) 124–143,.

[49]

A.I. Nathanson, The unintended effects of parental mediation of television on adolescents, Media Psychology 4 (2002) 207–230,.

[50]

R. Nowland, E.A. Necka, J.T. Cacioppo, Loneliness and social internet use: pathways to reconnection in a digital world?, Perspectives on Psychological Science 13 (1) (2018) 70–87,.

[51]

J.W. Patchin, S. Hinduja, Cyberbullying and self-esteem, Journal of School Health 80 (2010) 614–621,.

[52]

D. Perlman, L.A. Peplau, Toward a social psychology of loneliness, in: S. Duck, R. Gihour (Eds.), Personal relationships in disorder, Academic Press, London, 1981, pp. 31–56.

[53]

M. Pittman, B. Reich, Social media and loneliness: Why an Instagram picture may be worth more than a thousand Twitter words, Comput. Hum. Behav. 62 (2016) 155–167,.

Digital Library

[54]

M. Prensky, Digital natives, digital immigrants part 1, On the Horizon 9 (5) (2001) 1–6,.

[55]

A.K. Przybylski, N. Weinstein, A large-scale test of the goldilocks hypothesis: quantifying the relations between digital-screen use and the mental well-being of adolescents, Psychol. Sci. 28 (2) (2017) 204–215,.

[56]

P. Qualter, P. Munn, The separateness of social and emotional loneliness in childhood, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 43 (2002) 233–244,.

[57]

D.J. Reid, F.J.M. Reid, Text or talk? Social anxiety, loneliness, and divergent preferences for cell phone use, CyberPsychology & Behavior 10 (3) (2007) 424–435,.

[58]

D. Rieger, Between surveillance and sexting: Permanent connectedness and intimate relationships, in: P. Vorderer, D. Hefner, L. Reinecke, C. Klimmt (Eds.), Permanently Online, permanently connected. Living and communicating in a POPC world, Routledge:, New York, 2018, pp. 149–161.

[59]

Y. Rosseel, Lavaan: An R package for structural equation modeling and more. Version 0.5–12 (BETA), J. Stat. Softw. 48 (2) (2012) 1–36.

[60]

K.J. Rotenberg, S. Hymel (Eds.), Loneliness in Childhood and Adolescence, Cambridge University Press, 1999.

[61]

T. Ryan, S. Xenos, Who uses Facebook? An investigation into the relationship between the big five, shyness, narcissism, loneliness, and Facebook usage, Comput. Hum. Behav. 27 (5) (2011) 1658–1664,.

Digital Library

[62]

K.C. Schinka, M.H.M. van Dulmen, A.D. Mata, R. Bossarte, M. Swahn, Psychosocial predictors and outcomes of loneliness trajectories from childhood to early adolescence, Journal of Adolescence 36 (6) (2013) 1251–1260,.

[63]

D. Schmuck, K. Karsay, J. Matthes, A. Stevic, “Looking up and feeling down”: The influence of mobile social networking site use on upward social comparison, self-esteem, and well-being of adult smartphone users, Telematics Inform. 42 (2019),.

[64]

D. Schmuck, A. Stevic, J. Matthes, K. Karsay, Out of control? How parents’ perceived lack of control over children’s smartphone use affects children’s self-esteem over time, New Media & Society 1–21 (2021),.

[65]

S. Schwab, Evaluation of a short version of the Illinois Loneliness and Social Satisfaction Scale in a sample of students with and without special educational needs – an empirical study with primary and secondary students in Austria, British Journal of Special Education 42 (3) (2015) 257–278,.

[66]

M.H.W. Selfhout, S.J.T. Branje, M. Delsing, T.F.M. ter Bogt, W.H.J. Meeus, Different types of Internet use, depression, and social anxiety: The role of perceived friendship quality, Journal of Adolescence 32 (4) (2009) 819–833,.

[67]

H. Song, A. Zmyslinski-Seelig, J. Kim, A. Drent, A. Victor, K. Omori, M. Allen, Does Facebook make you lonely?: A meta analysis, Comput. Hum. Behav. 36 (2014) 446–452,.

Digital Library

[68]

E. Teppers, K. Luyckx, T. A. Klimstra, L. Goossens, Loneliness and Facebook motives in adolescence: A longitudinal inquiry into directionality of effect, Journal of Adolescence 37 (5) (2014) 691–699,.

[69]

P.M. Valkenburg, J. Peter, Online communication and adolescent well-being: Testing the stimulation versus the displacement hypothesis, Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 12 (2007) 1169–1182,.

[70]

P.M. Valkenburg, J. Peter, Preadolescents’ and adolescents’ online communication and their closeness to friends, Dev. Psychol. 43 (2007) 267–277,.

[71]

P.M. Valkenburg, J. Peter, The differential susceptibility to media effects model, Journal of Communication 63 (2) (2013) 221–243,.

[72]

P.M. Valkenburg, A.P. Schouten, J. Peter, Adolescents’ identity experiments on the internet, New Media & Society 7 (3) (2005) 383–402,.

[73]

A.J.A.M. Van Deursen, C.L. Bolle, S.M. Hegner, P.A.M. Kommers, Modeling habitual and addictive smartphone behavior: The role of smartphone usage types, emotional intelligence, social stress, self-regulation, age, and gender, Comput. Hum. Behav. 45 (2015) 411–420,.

Digital Library

[74]

E.A. Vandewater, S.-E. Park, X. Huang, E.A. Wartella, “No—you can’t watch that” Parental rules and young children’s media use, American Behavioral Scientist 48 (5) (2005) 608–623,.

[75]

J. Van Ouytsel, E. Van Gool, K. Ponnet, M. Walrave, Brief report: The association between adolescents' characteristics and engagement in sexting, Journal of Adolescence 37 (8) (2014) 1387–1391,.

[76]

M.H.W. Van Zalk, S.J.T. Branje, J. Denissen, M.A.G. Van Aken, W.H.J. Meeus, Who benefits from chatting, and why? The roles of extraversion and supportiveness in online chatting and emotional adjustment, Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 37 (9) (2011) 1202–1215,.

[77]

P. Verduyn, D.S. Lee, J. Park, H. Shablack, A. Orvell, J. Bayer, O. Ybarra, J. Jonides, E. Kross, Passive Facebook usage undermines affective well-being: Experimental and longitudinal evidence, J. Exp. Psychol. Gen. 144 (2) (2015) 480–488,.

[78]

P. Vorderer, N. Krämer, F.M. Schneider, Permanently online – Permanently connected: Explorations into university students’ use of social media and mobile smart devices, Comput. Hum. Behav. 63 (2016) 694–703,.

Digital Library

[79]

K. Wang, E. Frison, S. Eggermont, L. Vandenbosch, Active public Facebook use and adolescents’ feelings of loneliness: Evidence for a curvilinear relationship, Journal of Adolescence 67 (2018) 35–44,.

[80]

J.-L. Wang, J. Gaskin, D.H. Rost, D.A. Gentile, The reciprocal relationship between passive social networking site (SNS) usage and users’ subjective well-being, Social Science Computer Review 36 (5) (2018) 511–522,.

Digital Library

[81]

R.S. Weiss, Loneliness: The experience of emotional and social isolation, The MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, US, 1973.

[82]

C.-C. Yang, Instagram use, loneliness, and social comparison orientation: Interact and browse on social media, but don’t compare, Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking 19 (12) (2016) 703–708,.

[83]

S. Ye, K.K.W. Ho, Would you feel happier if you have more protection behaviour? A panel survey of university students in Japan, Behaviour & Information Technology 38 (4) (2018) 422–434,.

[84]

D. Zillmann, J. Bryant, Selective exposure to communication, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 1985.

[85]

J. Zywica, J. Danowski, The faces of facebookers: Investigating social enhancement and social compensation hypotheses, Journal of Computer Mediated Communication 14 (2008) 1–34,.

Index Terms

A vicious circle between children’s non-communicative smartphone use and loneliness: Parents cannot do much about it
1. Applied computing

Index terms have been assigned to the content through auto-classification.

Recommendations

Children's use of mobile devices, smartphone addiction and parental mediation in Taiwan
Abstract
This study assessed the prevalence of smartphone addiction among children in Taiwan and examined the related factors. A total of 2621 fifth-grade students and 2468 parents from 30 primary schools in Taipei, Taiwan completed self-...
Highlights
- About 15% of fifth-grade students in Taipei, Taiwan had a smartphone addiction.
Loneliness, parent-child communication and cyberbullying victimization among Spanish youths

Cyberbullying has been recognized as an important risk factor for mental health. Few studies have analyzed relationships between family variables and cyberbullying victimization. This ex post facto study analyze the relationships between loneliness, ...
Smartphone use during the perinatal period: Findings from a longitudinal study with first-time parents
Abstract
Becoming a parent is a complex life transition involving many adaptations in psychological functioning. To date, we know little about how couples use smartphones during their transition to parenthood. This study examined changes in different ...
Highlights
- To date, a systematic understanding of how smartphone use evolves during the transition to parenthood is still lacking.
- In this study, first-time parents completed three surveys from pregnancy to three months postpartum.
- Self-...

Comments

Please enable JavaScript to view thecomments powered by Disqus.

Information & Contributors

Information

Published In

cover image Telematics and Informatics

Telematics and Informatics Volume 64, Issue C

Nov 2021

203 pages

ISSN:0736-5853

Issue’s Table of Contents

The Author(s).

Publisher

Pergamon Press, Inc.

United States

Publication History

Published: 01 November 2021

Author Tags

Qualifiers

Research-article

Contributors

Other Metrics

View Article Metrics

Bibliometrics & Citations

Bibliometrics

Article Metrics

0
Total Citations
0
Total Downloads

Downloads (Last 12 months)0
Downloads (Last 6 weeks)0

Reflects downloads up to 28 Nov 2024

Other Metrics

View Author Metrics

Citations

View Options

View options

Login options

Check if you have access through your login credentials or your institution to get full access on this article.

Full Access

Get this Publication

Media

Figures

Other

Tables

View Issue’s Table of Contents