Sex differences in smartphone use profiles and the association with life satisfaction among South Korean second-year middle-school students: A latent profile analysis

This study aimed to explore smartphone use profiles by sex among South Korean second-year middle-school students and examine their association with life satisfaction. Using data from the second wave (2019) of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (2018), this study analyzed 2332 s-year middle-school students. Latent profile analysis was employed to differentiate smartphone use, and differences in life satisfaction among the smartphone use profiles were assessed using analysis of covariance. Females scored higher than males for the smartphone use subcategories of family relationships, friendships, and social networking service (SNS), tool, and information-seeking use. The only subcategory they did not score higher on was entertainment use. Moreover, the four male profiles included the “overall underused,” “SNS-excluded low use,” “SNS intensive use,” and “SNS underused” types. The three female profiles included the “overall underused,” “SNS intensive use,” and “SNS underused” types. Females in the “overall underused” type showed the lowest life satisfaction. These results suggest that to increase adolescents’ life satisfaction, schools and teachers must consider heterogeneity and sex differences in smartphone use when providing guidelines for appropriate smartphone use.