Smartphone morality: A mixed-method study of how young adults judge their own and other people’s digital media reliance

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Open Access

|Jan 2025

Figures & Tables

	All respondents 20+			Respondents 20–35 years old
	Pertaining to people in general (n = 2,387)	Pertaining to yourself (n = 2,387)	Difference	Pertaining to people in general (n = 585)	Pertaining to yourself (n = 562)	Difference
Good at setting limits for use	6	24	18	7	13	6
Behave in disturbing ways	24	2	−22	18	4	−14
Knowledgeable about apps	25	30	5	26	36	10
Wasting one’s time on device	50	25	−25	55	41	−14
Easily distracted by device	71	23	−48	78	41	−37
Difficult being away from device	71	19	−52	70	28	−42
Leads to buying unnecessary stuff	32	6	−26	41	12	−29
Leads to better quality of life	6	7	1	10	9	−1
Leads to less loneliness	13	9	−4	15	16	1
Leads to more stress	44	14	−30	45	23	−22
Gives important information about society	50	47	−3	56	56	0
Gives meaningful culture	17	16	−1	21	20	−1
Gives tips about new goods and services	34	28	−6	39	35	−4

	…pertaining to people in general		…pertaining to yourself		Difference
	Economy+ (n = 46)	Economy− (n = 70)	Economy+ (n = 42)	Economy− (n = 66)	Economy+	Economy−
Good at setting limits for use	13	3	19	10	6	7
Behave in disturbing ways	22	27	7	6	−15	−21
Knowledgeable about apps	48	39	43	29	−5	−10
Wasting one’s time on device	56	58	48	38	−8	−18
Easily distracted by device	72	86	48	46	−24	−40
Difficult being away from device	70	81	29	38	−41	−43
Leads to buying unnecessary things	24	48	12	11	−12	−37
Leads to better quality of life	14	10	18	8	4	−2
Leads to less loneliness	13	16	28	16	15	−1
Leads to more stress	42	49	35	23	−9	−26
Gives important information about society	57	51	66	56	9	5
Gives meaningful culture	27	16	16	26	−11	10
Gives tips about new goods and services	40	38	44	36	4	−2

	…pertaining to people in general		…pertaining to yourself		Difference
	Culture+ (n = 138)	Culture− (n = 37)	Culture+ (n = 135)	Culture− (n = 35)	Culture+	Culture−
Good at setting limits for use	5	6	13	0	8	−6
Behave in disturbing ways	17	17	4	3	−13	−14
Knowledgeable about apps	33	22	37	35	4	13
Wasting one’s time on device	55	47	39	49	−16	2
Easily distracted by device	76	78	39	41	−37	−37
Difficult being away from device	66	81	27	32	−39	−39
Leads to buying unnecessary things	39	47	12	11	−27	−36
Leads to better quality of life	12	12	10	6	−2	−6
Leads to less loneliness	22	15	21	16	−1	1
Leads to more stress	46	43	23	19	−23	−24
Gives important information about society	62	49	59	43	−3	−6
Gives meaningful culture	23	18	24	23	1	5
Gives tips about new goods and services	38	41	34	35	−4	−6

…pertaining to people in general			…pertaining to yourself		Difference
	M (n = 253)	W (n = 332)	M (n = 238)	W (n = 327)	M	W
Good at setting limits for use	7	7	16	11	9	4
Behave in disturbing ways	18	18	4	4	−14	−14
Knowledgeable about apps	22	29	39	33	17	4
Wasting one’s time on device	48	59	29	49	−19	−10
Easily distracted by device	71	83	34	47	−37	−36
Difficult being away from device	64	75	20	34	−44	−41
Leads to buying unnecessary things	38	42	7	16	−31	−26
Leads to better quality of life	13	8	12	7	−1	−1
Leads to less loneliness	15	15	17	15	2	0
Leads to more stress	48	44	18	27	−30	−17
Gives important information about society	51	59	55	57	4	−2
Gives meaningful culture	21	22	19	19	−2	−3
Gives tips about new goods and services	35	43	33	37	−2	−6

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/nor-2025-0001 | Journal eISSN: 2001-5119 | Journal ISSN: 1403-1108

Language: English

Page range: 1 - 24

Published on: Jan 24, 2025

Published by: University of Gothenburg Nordicom

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 2 times per year

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© 2025 André Jansson, Karin Fast, Stina Bengtsson, Johan Lindell, published by University of Gothenburg Nordicom
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.