Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

When Seniors Meet Digital: An Investigation on the Antecedents and Consequences of Smartphone Dependence Among Urban Older Adults

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers (HCII 2023)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNCS,volume 14055))

Included in the following conference series:

  • 422 Accesses

Abstract

With the advancement of digital inclusion, the ability of older adults to use ICT has increased significantly. Smartphone dependence is a pervasive and damaging behavior. With the permeation of smartphones among urban older adults, smartphone dependence is emerging in this population. However, the mechanism underlying smartphone dependence among the older users are still understudied. In this research, we employed the critical incident technique (CIT) method to investment the antecedents and consequences of older users’ smartphone dependence. This research gathered and analyzed qualitative data from 9 males and 11 females of older adults aged 55 to 63. The results indicated that antecedents of older adults’ smartphone dependence include contextual factors, emotional lift, anxiety sensitivity, and self-regulation. We built the seniors & smartphone pull-out battle model to reveal the process of how these antecedents impact smartphone dependence. In addition, smartphone dependence among older adults would lead to cognitive, psychological, and behavioral consequences. Our work advances older users’ smartphone engagement research by exploring the antecedents and consequences of older adults’ smartphone dependence behaviors. Meanwhile, this research provides practical insights for smartphone practitioners, family members, and older adults to manage smartphone dependence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 79.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 99.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Bevilacqua, R., et al.: EHealth literacy: from theory to clinical application for digital health improvement. Results from the ACCESS training experience. Int. J. Env. Res. Public Health 18(22), 11800 (2021). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182211800

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Berner, J., et al.: Factors influencing Internet usage in older adults (65 years and above) living in rural and urban Sweden. Health Inform. J. 21, 237–249 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/1460458214521226

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Mack, E.A., Dutton, W.H., Rikard, R.V., Yankelevich, A.: Mapping and measuring the information society: a social science perspective on the opportunities, problems, and prospects of broadband Internet data in the United States. Inf. Soc. 35, 57–68 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/01972243.2019.1574526

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Sun, K., Zhao, Y.C., Tao, X., Zhou, J., Liu, Q.: Examining urban-rural differences in the impact of Internet use on older adults’ depression: evidence from China. Data Sci. Manag. 5, 13–20 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsm.2022.03.003

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Barnes, D.E., et al.: The mental activity and eXercise (MAX) trial. JAMA Intern. Med. 173, 797 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2013.189

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Cotten, S.R., Ford, G., Ford, S., Hale, T.M.: Internet use and depression among retired older adults in the United States: a longitudinal analysis. J. Gerontol. Ser. B: Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 69, 763–771 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbu018

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Rowe, J.W., Kahn, R.L.: Successful aging 2.0: conceptual expansions for the 21st century. J. Gerontol. Ser. B: Psychol. Sci. Soc. Sci. 70(4), 593–596 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1093/geronb/gbv025

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Busch, P.A., McCarthy, S.: Antecedents and consequences of problematic smartphone use: a systematic literature review of an emerging research area. Comput. Hum. Behav. 114, 106414 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2020.106414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Elhai, J.D., Levine, J.C., Dvorak, R.D., Hall, B.J.: Non-social features of smartphone use are most related to depression, anxiety and problematic smartphone use. Comput. Hum. Behav. 69, 75–82 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Loredo e Silva, M.P., de Souza Matos, B.D., da Silva Ezequiel, O., Lucchetti, A.L.G., Lucchetti, G.: The use of smartphones in different phases of medical school and its relationship to internet addiction and learning approaches. J. Med. Syst. (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10916-018-0958-x

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Genta, G., Riberi, P.: The dark side of technology. In: Technology and the Growth of Civilization. SPB, pp. 172–182. Springer, Cham (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-25583-1_9

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  12. Park, C.S.: Examination of smartphone dependence: functionally and existentially dependent behavior on the smartphone. Comput. Hum. Behav. 93, 123–128 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.12.022

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. van Deursen, A.J.A.M., Bolle, C.L., Hegner, S.M., Kommers, P.A.M.: 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, 411–420 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Chen, C., Zhang, K.Z.K., Gong, X., Zhao, S.J., Lee, M.K.O., Liang, L.: Understanding compulsive smartphone use: an empirical test of a flow-based model. Int. J. Inform. Manag. 37(5), 438–454 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijinfomgt.2017.04.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Lee, Y.-K., Chang, C.-T., Lin, Y., Cheng, Z.-H.: The dark side of smartphone usage: psychological traits, compulsive behavior and technostress. Comput. Hum. Behav. 31, 373–383 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.10.047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Nahas, M., Hlais, S., Saberian, C., Antoun, J.: Problematic smartphone use among Lebanese adults aged 18–65 years using MPPUS-10. Comput. Hum. Behav. 87, 348–353 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2018.06.009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Busch, P.A., Hausvik, G.I., Ropstad, O.K., Pettersen, D.: Smartphone usage among older adults. Comput. Hum. Behav. 121, 106783 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106783

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Flanagan, J.C.: The critical incident technique. Psychol. Bull. 51, 327–358 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1037/h0061470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Piwek, L., Joinson, A.: “What do they snapchat about?” Patterns of use in time-limited instant messaging service. Comput. Hum. Behav. 54, 358–367 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.08.026

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Johnson, J.M.: In-Depth Interviewing (2002). https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412973588.n8

  21. Keaveney, S.M.: Customer switching behavior in service industries: an exploratory study. J. Mark. 59, 71–82 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1177/002224299505900206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Parker, E.B., Holsti, O.R.: Content analysis for the social sciences and humanities. Am. Sociol. Rev. 35, 356 (1970). https://doi.org/10.2307/2093233

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Davis, R.A.: A cognitive-behavioral model of pathological Internet use. Comput. Hum. Behav. 17, 187–195 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1016/s0747-5632(00)00041-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Hussain, Z., Griffiths, M.D., Sheffield, D.: An investigation into problematic smartphone use: the role of narcissism, anxiety, and personality factors. J. Behav. Addict. 6, 378–386 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.6.2017.052

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Katz, J.: Handbook of Mobile Communication Studies. The MIT Press (2008). https://doi.org/10.7551/mitpress/9780262113120.001.0001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Song, S., Zhao, Y.C., Yao, X., Ba, Z., Zhu, Q.: Short video apps as a health information source: an investigation of affordances, user experience and users’ intention to continue the use of TikTok. INTR. 31, 2120–2142 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1108/intr-10-2020-0593

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Fox, J., Moreland, J.J.: The dark side of social networking sites: an exploration of the relational and psychological stressors associated with Facebook use and affordances. Comput. Hum. Behav. 45, 168–176 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.11.083

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Bian, M., Leung, L.: Linking loneliness, shyness, smartphone addiction symptoms, and patterns of smartphone use to social capital. Soc. Sci. Comput. Rev. 33, 61–79 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1177/0894439314528779

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Mahapatra, S.: Smartphone addiction and associated consequences: role of loneliness and self-regulation. Behav. Inf. Technol. 38, 833–844 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1080/0144929x.2018.1560499

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Mosalanejad, L., Nikbakht, G., Abdollahifrad, S., Kalani, N.: The prevalence of smartphone addiction and its relationship with personality traits, loneliness and daily stress of students in Jahrom University of medical sciences in 2014: a cross-sectional analytical study. J. Res. Med. Dental Sci. 7, 131–136 (2019)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgment

This work was funded by the Key Projects of the National Social Science Foundation of China under Grant (No. 22&ZD327).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210023, China

    Yan Zhang & Qinghua Zhu

  2. Nanjing University of Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210094, China

    Dawei Wu & Yuxiang (Chris) Zhao

Authors
  1. Yan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dawei Wu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yuxiang (Chris) Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Qinghua Zhu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Yan Zhang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Tsinghua University, Beijing, China

    Qin Gao

  2. Chongqing University, Chongqing, China

    Jia Zhou

  3. Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Vincent G. Duffy

  4. Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Margherita Antona

  5. University of Crete and Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH), Heraklion, Crete, Greece

    Constantine Stephanidis

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Zhang, Y., Wu, D., Zhao, Y.(., Zhu, Q. (2023). When Seniors Meet Digital: An Investigation on the Antecedents and Consequences of Smartphone Dependence Among Urban Older Adults. In: Gao, Q., Zhou, J., Duffy, V.G., Antona, M., Stephanidis, C. (eds) HCI International 2023 – Late Breaking Papers. HCII 2023. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 14055. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48041-6_20

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48041-6_20

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-48040-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-48041-6

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation