A study on the relationship between smartphone use and military life adaptation of Korean soldiers: The mediating effects of interpersonal skills and self-esteem

Objectives In this study, we analyzed the impact of smartphone use on soldiers' adaptation to military life and the mediating effects of interpersonal skills and self-esteem on this impact. Methods For this study, a questionnaire was distributed to 350 soldiers from two units located in Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do who participated in humanities education from July 15 to September 6, 2024, and 338 copies were used for analysis after excluding insincere responses. The collected data were analyzed for mediation effects using Baron & Kenny's three-stage hierarchical regression analysis using SPSS 22.0, and post-hoc verification was performed using bootstrapping. Results The positive effects of smartphone use by Korean soldiers, interpersonal skills, and self-esteem were found to have a positive effect on military life adaptation, while the negative effects of smartphones did not have a significant effect on military life adaptation. The positive effects of soldiers’ smartphone use on military life adaptation were completely mediated by interpersonal skills, and the positive effects of soldiers’ smartphone use on military life adaptation were completely mediated by self-esteem. Conclusions The positive effects of smartphone use mean that it facilitates communication, improves trust with others, facilitates adaptation to military life, and increases self-esteem by satisfying soldiers’ needs through the use of various functions of smartphones, which in turn increases the level of adaptation to military life. Therefore, it means that smartphones should be used appropriately to help soldiers adapt to military life, and that interpersonal skills and self-esteem should be increased.