Psychological well-being, gender, and age-specific difference on objectively recorded smartphone screen time in Japanese adults: A regression and clustering analysis

Smartphones have become an integral part of our daily lives. Although many scales can assess smartphone usage, they rely on respondents' subjective self-reports and suffer from considerable cognitive bias. Therefore, quantitative measurement of smartphone's recorded screen time is an effective way to assess smartphone usage. This study assesses the effects of age, gender, and subjective psychological factors (depression, social anxiety, sleep quality, stress perseverance, and loneliness) on smartphone usage. Based on previous research, we hypothesized that there would be (1) gender-, (2) age-, and (3) psychological state-specific differences in smartphone usage. We conducted psychological tests, obtained participants’ weekly screen times, and performed ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and k-means clustering. Twenty-four female participants and 25 male participants were analyzed. Only the subjective loneliness indicated statistical significance between genders. OLS regression analysis indicated that among females, age showed a negative coefficient (age, −76.5), and both the social anxiety (LSAS-J, 20.0) and loneliness (UCLA-LS, −44.5) had significant coefficients. In contrast, among males, age had no significant coefficients, and only the depression (BDI-III, 77.7) showed a significant positive relationship. Our findings suggest that smartphone users' motivations and practicalities differ by gender and age group. To support these findings, further studies with larger sample sizes and more variables should be conducted. • Weekly screen time was obtained by the iPhone's “Screen time” feature. • Correlation between psychological factors and the screen time was analyzed. • Weekly screen time did not differ significantly between genders. • Age-specific difference in screen time was indicated. • Excessive smartphone use might be associated with depression or social anxiety.