Researchers from the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) have discovered something that most of us already know — many young Singaporeans are glued to their smartphones.
Almost half of Singaporean youth have “problematic smartphone use” (PSU), the study found.
The IMH study, published in the Asian Journal Of Psychiatry’s August issue, was conducted over 15 months from April 2021 to July 2022.
It surveyed 6,509 Singapore citizens and permanent residents aged between 15 and 65 years old.
They were given questionnaires to gauge how much they were addicted to smartphones and how this affected their mental health, among other things.
The participants were asked to indicate how much they agreed or disagreed with statements about their smartphone use, for example, “I won’t be able to stand not having a smartphone”.
They also were also asked whether they constantly thought about their devices and felt uncomfortable without them, as well as whether prolonged use caused them to suffer physical discomfort — wrist or neck pain — or affected their work or school.
The study, funded by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Health, is the first nationwide study to highlight the extent of PSU among Singaporeans aged 15 to 65 years and its association with mental health outcomes.
The study found that 46.4% of Singaporeans aged between 15 and 21 had PSU behaviour.
PSU is defined in terms of dependence and time spent on devices, as well as the problems caused.
When the age range was expanded to 15 to 65, the percentage dropped to 30.2%.
Those aged 15 to 34 were most likely to experience PSU, it said.
Younger people might be more predisposed to PSU as they depend on smartphones for socialisation purposes, coupled with lower self-control and higher social stress and anxiety, the researchers added.
PSU is a problem because people with PSU are more likely to have symptoms of moderate or severe depression, anxiety, insomnia and poorer positive mental health, the study said.
It cited a Swedish study among college students that associated high smartphone use with prolonged stress, sleep difficulties and depressive symptoms.
The study also quoted other studies on smartphone and sleep, saying,
Smartphone use in bed before sleep was associated with less sleep time, difficulty in sleeping, and excessive daytime sleepiness.
It’s thus “not surprising” that PSU is associated with lower positive mental health, the study concluded, adding,
Several studies have found a similar association between PSU and poor subjective well-being.
Researchers said the results were concerning, and more studies are needed to understand the association between PSU and adverse health outcomes further.
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