Author(s)

Yili Yang ¹, Xuejun Li ², Qianyi Zhang ³, Xiaoxu Zhang ⁴, Jinzhi Liu ⁴

Affiliation(s)

¹ Guangxi Vocational & Technical Institute of Industry, Nanning, Guangxi, 530001, China
² School of Information Science and Engineering, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin, Guangxi, 541004, China
³ Office of the President, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, 541004, China
⁴ School of Politics and Public Administration, Guangxi Normal University, Guilin, Guangxi, 541004, China

Corresponding Author

Xuejun Li

ABSTRACT

This research focuses on undergraduate students enrolled in different universities in Guilin, Guangxi Province. A total of 300 valid questionnaires were collected for the survey. The Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) and the UCLA Loneliness Scale (UCLA) were employed to assess smartphone dependency and loneliness, respectively. The Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI), comprising 17 items grouped into four factors, was employed in this study. Participants who affirmatively responded to eight specific items were classified as smartphone dependents. The findings revealed a positive correlation between loneliness scores and the scores on various factors of smartphone dependency. Notably, the factor of inefficacy, representing the impact of excessive smartphone use on daily life and study efficiency, emerged as a significant positive predictor of loneliness among college students. While supporting the existing theory of a positive correlation, these results propose a novel theoretical perspective — the Theory of Usage Ineffectiveness. This theory suggests that if the tools embedded in smartphones fail to effectively address individuals' life and study challenges, usage ineffectiveness may compromise adaptability, potentially depriving individuals of opportunities for information exchange and social interaction, thereby intensifying feelings of loneliness.

KEYWORDS

College Students; Smartphone Dependency; Loneliness

CITE THIS PAPER

Yili Yang, Xuejun Li, Qianyi Zhang, Xiaoxu Zhang, Jinzhi Liu, Research on the Relationship between Smartphone Dependency and Feelings of Loneliness: Novel Insights from the "Theory of Usage Ineffectiveness". Applied & Educational Psychology (2023) Vol. 4: 115-120. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.23977/appep.2023.041118.

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