Too much smartphone time could be a sign of anxiety, study finds

After following 300 cellphone-using university students, researchers from the University of Illinois, USA, realized that anxiety and depression mainly affected young adults who used their smartphone as a means of social protection, providing an escape from a sometimes unpleasant reality.

"Handheld devices, with their countless applications and entertainment options and their constant presence at our fingertips, make it easier than ever before to disconnect with the problems [and] stresses of reality, and avoid actively engaging with them," observed the study co-author Tayana Panova.

The team studied students' responses to a questionnaire about cellphone use and their feelings. They then asked 72 students to spend five minutes writing about a personal flaw or weakness that made them feel uncomfortable, placing them in an anxiety-inducing situation. The participants then had to wait for 10 minutes while the writings were supposedly reviewed.

During the test, a third of participants had no access to their smartphone or any other device, another third had access to their smartphone, and a final group had access to a basic video game.

The study found that the group allowed access to their smartphone had the lowest anxiety levels. The participants were 64% more likely not to experience anxiety than those with access to no device.

Of the participants allowed cellphone access who felt very anxious during the test, 82% used their mobile throughout the experiment, compared to 50% of anxious participants in the video game group.

Conversely, 50% of non-stressed participants reached for their cellphone compared with 25% of the video game group.

The researchers conclude that smartphones can serve as "security blankets" which reassure and comfort anxious users. However, they stress that it's a person's underlying feelings and emotions that determine whether they develop this kind of behavior, rather than the simple fact of owning a cellphone.