A recent study sheds light on the links between our psychological makeup and how we interact with smartphones and social media. The research, published in BMC Psychology, shows that individuals with certain attachment styles may be more prone to develop stronger emotional bonds with their smartphones, potentially leading to maladaptive usage.
In today’s digital age, smartphones are more than just communication devices; they are an integral part of our daily lives. Previous research has often approached smartphone usage from an addiction perspective, but this approach has been criticized for oversimplifying the complex behaviors associated with smartphone use.
Prior studies have hinted at the psychological underpinnings of our interactions with technology, particularly focusing on ‘Problematic Mobile Phone Use’ and its links to mental health issues. Recognizing the need for a deeper understanding, an international team of researchers embarked on a study to explore how adult attachment styles and interpersonal relationships might influence smartphone use.
“I was interested in the topic of users’ relationship with their smartphone and of the psychological functions the device performs for different reasons,” explained study author Emanuela S. Gritti, a licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of Milano Bicocca and University of Urbino Carlo Bo.
“One point is the widespread presence of smartphones in everyday life in so many different areas of the world and their addictive potential. Even more importantly, I believe that understanding how individual interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency and adult attachment style) generalize to the emotional bond with the device and interact with other relevant psychological correlates (e.g., self-esteem, emotion regulation) may help understanding smartphone and social networking sites consumption.”
For their study, the researchers recruited 376 participants, primarily from university courses and through a method known as snowball sampling. After excluding some participants for incomplete consent forms and response biases, the final sample comprised 341 individuals, with a balanced representation of genders and an age range from 18 to 77 years.
Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires, assessing various aspects of their psychological profile, including their attachment styles, interpersonal dependency, self-esteem, and emotional processing abilities. Additionally, they responded to questions specifically designed to measure their attachment to their smartphones and their intensity of social network use.
Attachment to smartphones refers to the emotional bond a person forms with their device, characterized by feelings of dependence, anxiety when separated, and viewing the smartphone as a source of comfort (e.g. “Having my phone makes me feel safer). Intensity of social network use, on the other hand, involves not only the frequency of using social networks but also the degree of reliance on these platforms for social interaction and validation (e.g. “Social networking has become part of my daily routine”).
The researchers found that individuals with anxious attachment styles – those who often feel insecure in their relationships – showed a tendency to form stronger emotional bonds with their smartphones. This group was also more likely to use social media intensively, suggesting a digital extension of their interpersonal anxieties.
Interestingly, the study also found that relationship status played a role in these dynamics. Single individuals with anxious attachment styles were more prone to destructive overdependence (excessively relying on others for emotional support, decision-making, and validation), alexithymia (a difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions), and lower self-esteem. These psychological vulnerabilities were, in turn, linked to a more intense emotional bond with smartphones and greater social media usage.
On the flip side, the study noted that single individuals with higher self-esteem tended to use social media more intensely. This finding hints at the role of social media in self-expression and identity consolidation, particularly among those not in a relationship.
“A take home message of the study is that there is more to smartphone use than carrying out a series of useful communication and functional activities,” Gritti told PsyPost. “People might differ in how they ‘bond’ with their smartphone based on their interpersonal style (e.g., how they manage distance and closeness in relationships) and this will have an effect on how and with which intensity they will use it.”
However, the study is not without its limitations. A notable caveat is the reliance on self-reported data, which can sometimes introduce biases based on how participants perceive or wish to present their smartphone and social media usage. Future research could benefit from incorporating more objective measures of digital behavior to corroborate these findings.
“It would be valuable in future investigations to assess actual smartphone use, therefore integrating assessment based on participants’ self-reported descriptions, to exclude potential desirability or recall biases in participants’ reports of their digital behavior,” Gritti said.
“The study significantly adds to the literature showing that smartphone and social network use are multidetermined behaviors. For instance, our study suggests that other individual psychological and demographic variables contribute to smartphone and social network use, such as level of self- esteem and marital status.”
The study, “The smartphone as a “significant other”: interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use“, was authored by Emanuela S. Gritti, Robert F. Bornstein, and Baptiste Barbot.
