The Yin and Yang of smartphones: an interview study of smartphone use and its effects
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/GKMC-01-2021-0018 |
| Published date | 19 June 2021 |
| Date | 19 June 2021 |
| Pages | 432-448 |
| Author | Naresh Kumar Agarwal,Wenqing Lu |
The Yin and Yang of smartphones:
an interview study of smartphone
use and its effects
Naresh Kumar Agarwal and Wenqing Lu
School of Library and Information Science, Simmons University,
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of thispaper is to study smartphone use and its positive and negative effectsand to
provide recommendationsfor 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 contactedand the reasons for using their phones. This paper analyzes the pros and
cons of using smartphonesusing the Yin-Yang worldview.
Findings –This paper finds thatpeople use their smartphones for communication,entertainment and other
specific functions. Easeof communication and multitasking are the key benefits, and overuse and disconnect
from the real worldare thedetrimentsin 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
positivelens.
Practical implications –The proposed framework can help the reader to consider their daily use of
smartphonesand 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
recommendationsfor effective usage.
Keywords Smartphone use, Being present, Cons, Pros, Smartphone addiction, Yin-Yang framework
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
A lot of people now spend their free time staring at their smartphones(Choi, 2016)–texting
(Coyne et al.,2011;Schadeet al., 2013;DiDonato, 2014) and engaging in other activities,such
as viewing photos, checking their social media accounts on Facebook, Twitter and
Instagram, and checking email, Google maps, etc., even as they move about from place to
place (Pew Research, 2017). This ubiquitousness of smartphones and mobile computing
apps has fundamentally changed the way people communicate. Previous studies have
confirmed that mobile communication facilitates “subjective well-being”(the subjective
evaluation for the overall satisfaction of life) (Chan, 2015;Kühnlein et al.,2009). However,
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.
GKMC
71,6/7
432
Received26 January 2021
Revised6 April 2021
Accepted28 April 2021
GlobalKnowledge, Memory and
Communication
Vol.71 No. 6/7, 2022
pp. 432-448
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2514-9342
DOI 10.1108/GKMC-01-2021-0018
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2514-9342.htm
some smartphone users experience negative impacts from using smartphones excessively,
such as poor academic performance and interpersonal problems (Bae, 2015;Lepp et al.,
2014). Smartphone addiction can lead to ill health, including physical,psychological and
social issues (Ding and Li, 2017). As early as two decades ago, smartphone addiction was
considered to be a mental health concern and, more specifically, a type of behavioral
addiction (Griffiths,2000).
Even though many studies have been done on smartphone use and addiction, this is a
continuing issue that needs to be explored at different points in time. While most studies
have either talked about the positives of smartphone use or warned of problematic usage,
there is a lack of balance and a dialecticalunderstanding in studying how certain features of
smartphones can be both good and bad. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to
understand smartphone use behavior, its positives and negativeeffects, as well as provide
recommendations for effective communication using smartphones. The primary
contribution is the Yin-Yang framework of smartphone use. With the detailed results from
more than 24h of one-on-one interviews, we investigate different aspects of smartphone
use –frequency, services, mode of communication, apps, etc., and its effects –both positive
and negative, and providerecommendations on how to use smartphones smartly.
The Yin-Yang frameworkisbuilt based on the following research questions:
RQ1.How and why do peopleuse smartphones in everyday life?
RQ2.What are the prosand cons of using smartphones?
RQ3.What are the possible solutions for effectivesmartphone use?
This paper is a part of a larger study of non-response and information avoidance behavior
examining why people do not respond to certain text messages and calls, and its effect on
the sender. Specifically, this paper expands the study on smartphone use behaviors and
advocates a balanced use of smartphonesfor daily life.
Literature review
Mobile technology has grown very fast. University students use mobile devices for
collaborating with peers, researching books, watching movies, checking the weather and
simply answering various questions (Livingston, 2010;Tillander, 2011). Several studies
have been done on smartphone use during the past few years. Agarwal (2014) studied the
use of touch devices by a child.Almunawar et al. (2018) used the theory of reasoned action to
evaluate smartphone use in Brunei –AlBarashdi and Bouazza (2019) carried out a mixed-
method study of undergraduates on smartphone use, gratification and addiction –These
studies cited many positive motivations for the user to use smartphones. Lower-income and
smartphone-dependent users use them for job and employment resources, while young
adults use them for job seeking, educational content, health informationand navigation.
Using smartphones for news and community information is popular across ages (Pew
Research, 2017). Children usethem for watching videos, solving puzzles and playing games
(Agarwal, 2014). On the negative aspects of smartphones, studies have focused on the
overuse, problematic use, attachment and addiction of smartphones among young people,
including their attitudes and experiences (Haug et al.,2015;Fullwood et al.,2017;Ryding
and Kaye, 2018;AlBarashdi and Bouazza, 2019).Smetaniuk (2014) reported that 10%–25%
of people in the USA tended to have problematic cell phone usage. Smartphone addiction
can lead to ill health, including physical,psychological and social issues (Ding and Li, 2017).
Annoni et al. (2021) found that heavy smartphone users, with the tendency of trusting
others, are more at risk of problematic/heavysmartphone usage, which can be explained by
Smartphone
use and its
effects
433
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