The Expanded Me: Impact of Smartphone Use on Adolescents’ Self-Expansion Via Smartphone

Abstract

As the most popular handheld tech tool in modern society, smartphones have been closely tied to people’s lives. Previous studies widely discussed the negative influence of smartphone use on people’s psychology and behavior. However, there is a paucity of research examined the relationship between smartphone use and the self from the perspective of self-expansion. Based on the self-expansion model, this study explored how the self changed as a result of smartphone use and also examined the underlying mediators such as cognitive absorption and online basic psychological need satisfaction. A sample of 866 Chinese adolescents reported on the anonymous questionnaires. The current results indicated that adolescents’ smartphone use was positively related to self-expansion via smartphone. The mediating roles of cognitive absorption and online basic psychological need satisfaction were also validated. This study suggests that smartphone is an effective way for people to improve and expand themselves.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant No. 32000764] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities of Central China Normal University [CCNU20TS029].

Notes on contributors

Jiayin Wu

Jiayin Wu is a postgraduate student at the School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China. Her current research interests include cyberpsychology and the impact of the Internet and smartphone.

Lu Qiao

Lu Qiao is a postgraduate student at the School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China. Her research interests focus on cyberpsychology, self-expansion via smartphone, and human-smartphone interaction.

Qinxue Liu

Qinxue Liu presently serves as an associate professor at the School of Psychology at Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China. Her research interests include cyberpsychology, smartphone addiction, and human-smartphone interaction.