The Yin and Yang of smartphones: an interview study of smartphone use and its effects
Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication
ISSN: 2514-9342
Article publication date: 19 June 2021
Issue publication date: 21 July 2022
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study smartphone use and its positive and negative effects and to provide recommendations for balanced use.
Design/methodology/approach
To study phone use, this paper applies the uses and gratification theory and gathered interview data from 24 participants on the participants’ frequency of use, mode of communication, people contacted and the reasons for using their phones. This paper analyzes the pros and cons of using smartphones using the Yin-Yang worldview.
Findings
This paper finds that people use their smartphones for communication, entertainment and other specific functions. Ease of communication and multitasking are the key benefits, and overuse and disconnect from the real world are the detriments in smartphone use.
Research limitations/implications
The findings can enable future researchers and practitioners to view smartphones and their effects more holistically, rather than seeing it only from the negative or the positive lens.
Practical implications
The proposed framework can help the reader to consider their daily use of smartphones and their ways of balancing their presence in the virtual and the real worlds.
Originality/value
This paper proposes the Yin-Yang framework of smartphone use and provides recommendations for effective usage.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The study was supported by Simmons University (School of Library and Information Science’s Emily Hollowell grant 112–2435-20–211356 and the President’s Fund grant 112–300-200000-UR_230000). We are thankful for the contributions of Tenbit Mitiku and Nina Ferry at different stages of the larger project. A poster based on this particular study was presented at the Annual Meeting of the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T 2019) in Melbourne, Australia in October 2019.
Citation
Agarwal, N.K. and Lu, W. (2022), "The Yin and Yang of smartphones: an interview study of smartphone use and its effects", Global Knowledge, Memory and Communication, Vol. 71 No. 6/7, pp. 432-448. https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-01-2021-0018
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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