JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Problematic smartphone use, like problematic internet use, is a condition whose treatment is now being sought online. In the absence of established treatments, smartphone-provided tools that monitor or control smartphone use have become increasingly popular, and their dissemination has largely happened without oversight from the mental health field.

Objective:

Our goal was to assess the acceptability, popularity and perceived effectiveness of smartphone tools that monitor and control smartphone use, and to evaluate demographic, behavioral and other predictors of usage.

Methods:

We conducted a study in a representative sample of 1989 US-based adults to assess the popularity and perceived effectiveness of smartphone functionalities that track and limit use, and employed machine learning and other statistical analysis to identify latent user classes, the association between latent class membership and demographic variables and any predictors of latent class membership from covariates such as daily average smartphone use, social problems from smartphone use, smartphone “addiction” and other psychiatric symptoms.

Results:

Participants experiencing problematic smartphone use were more likely to be younger and female. Smartphone tools that monitor and control smartphone use were popular among participants, including parents targeting their children; over two thirds of participants used sleep-related tools, for example. Among those who tried a tool, the highest rate of perceived effectiveness was 33%. Three latent user classes were uncovered: non-users, effective users and ineffective users. Android OS users were more likely to be non-users, while younger adults and females were more likely to be effective users. The existence of psychiatric symptoms did not discourage smartphone tool use.

Conclusions:

If proven effective, smartphone tools that monitor and control smartphone use are likely to be broadly embraced. The results portend well for the acceptability of mobile interventions in the treatment of smartphone-related psychopathologies and, potentially, non-smartphone-related ones. Smartphone tools that monitor and control smartphone use may become a common digital mental health intervention. Better tools, targeted marketing and inclusive design are required to realize their potential, as are formal efficacy trials.