Smartphone addiction is more prevalent among men and parents with many children, China study says
- Research looks at Beijing residents in various age groups with differing educational backgrounds and income
- Smartphone addiction is defined as phone use that is stressful, sometimes leading to anxiety and depression
Addiction is an age old problem, but having trouble peeling yourself away from your smartphone is a uniquely 21st century headache. And it turns out that just how badly a person is hooked on their mobile devices could be related to sex, income and education.
Male Beijingers are more prone to suffering from mobile phone addiction than females, according to the latest issue of the Blue Book of Beijing Social Mentality, an annual study published by the Social Sciences Academic Press (China).
Phone use generally becomes an addiction when it turns stressful for the user, researchers previously said. At its worst, symptoms can include anxiety and depression.
The new study found that the difference in addiction between the two sexes was small. But separate studies on other populations have produced opposing results. Still, these latest results kicked off a heated online debate in China.
“Mothers take care of the children while fathers lie down with their phones,” reads one of the top Weibo comments from someone attempting to explain the results.
“Because most men don’t do anything,” another commenter said. “They just come home and play games on their phones, and they never think about doing household chores.”
While complaints like these were common, others were quick to rebuke what they saw as gender stereotypes.
“These days a lot of software already comes with mobile versions, so rather than being addicted to phones, we are forced to use phones,” another person wrote. “I already find the sound of smartphones disgusting and nerve-racking.”
“It’s unnecessary to disparage men,” someone else said. “The world has a lot of irresponsible men and women, but I hope we don’t generalise. Whether it’s men or women, a lot of us are scrolling our phones mostly because we want to relax after a busy day.”
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The commenter could be onto something when it comes to stress.
The new study shows that smartphone addiction is related to the number of children a person has. Someone raising three or more children is more reliant on smartphones than other parents or childless individuals.
Among all adults, people between 21 and 30 years old were the most addicted to smartphones, researchers found. And those who were jobless or earned a monthly salary of 15,001 to 20,000 yuan (US$2,236 to US$2,982) were also more glued to their screens.
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On the other hand, those who are the least addicted to smartphones are likely to have only attained a primary school education at most – something that is common among older generations in China. Using a smartphone is almost a necessity for daily life in the country these days. This remains a challenge for senior citizens, many of whom are often struggling to adapt to a digital world of mobile payment and QR codes.
The digital divide between rural and urban China is narrower than ever as thanks to the prevalence of smartphones, and the impact can already be seen. While the rural population arrived later to mobile devices, the study revealed that they were more addicted to them than urbanites.
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Still, wherever people live, many admit they are becoming inseparable from their phones.
In an informal online poll run by the Sina news platform on Monday, more than half of the over 8,000 respondents said they were “almost unable to stay away from smartphones”. Only a meagre group of about 200 respondents said they “don’t look at smartphones outside work”.
