https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5053-7194
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ABSTRACT
This exploratory study is the first to present an in vivo method to capture rich, longitudinal data on the prevalence and features of student-athletes’ smartphone usage and concurrent psychosocial outcomes. Ten competitive Canadian student-athletes were meticulously tracked through the collection of monthly self-report surveys and real-time smartphone usage data over the course of a full academic year. Half of them exhibited heavy while the other half exhibited light usage trends. The athletes predominantly used their smartphone for social media. Changes in their moderate-to-high level of psychosocial functioning was highly nuanced over time, similar to their amount of usage. Findings support a new wave of literature deemphasizing a simple relationship between smartphone usage and negative psychosocial outcomes, and encourage further study of individual characteristics, such as purpose of usage. This research lays the foundation for larger-scale studies to assess the impact of student-athletes’ smartphone usage.
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No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Poppy DesClouds
Poppy DesClouds is a PhD candidate in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. Poppy completed her B.A. (Communications and Cultural Studies) at Concordia University and her M.H.K. (Intervention and Consultation) at the University of Ottawa. Her research interests include applied sport psychology, mental health, and the intersection of technology and well-being. Poppy is also a registered Mental Performance Consultant with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.
Natalie Durand-Bush
Dr. Natalie Durand-Bush is a sport psychology professor, scientist, and practitioner in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. She leads the SEWP Lab and specializes in mental skills training and assessment, mental health, and coaching psychology. Natalie is also the Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Mental Health and Sport and a registered Mental Performance Consultant with the Canadian Sport Psychology Association.
Michael Del Bel
Michael Del Bel is a PhD candidate in Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Ottawa. Michael completed his B.Sc.H. (Biology) at Acadia University and his M.Sc. (Human Kinetics) at the University of Ottawa. His research in Clinical Biomechanics focuses on Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation in adolescents.
Fedwa Laamarti
Dr. Fedwa Laamarti is a Research Fellow at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence. She received her Ph.D. in Computer Engineering from the University of Ottawa, and she has several years of experience in industry, in software design and analysis. Fedwa is working on multiple research projects with the Multimedia Communications Research Laboratory. Her research interests include the Digital Twin for Health and Well-being, Artificial Intelligence and Multimedia for Social Good.
Bradley W. Young
Dr. Bradley W. Young is a Full Professor in the School of Human Kinetics at the University of Ottawa. His research interests lie in the area of athletes' self-regulated learning during sport training, the psychology of practice, youth talent development in sport, as well as the maintenance of skilled performance across the lifespan.
Abdulmotaleb El Saddik
Dr. Abdulmotaleb El Saddik is the Acting Chair at Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence and a Distinguished Professor in the School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Ottawa. He is an internationally-recognized scholar who has made strong contributions to the knowledge and understanding of multimedia computing, communications and applications, particularly in the area of Digital Twins.