Abstract

Problematic smartphone use (PSU) amongst the youth is a topic of increasing interest in the field of problematic behaviours research. Recent findings suggest the utility to shed light both on the use of specific apps (social media and videogames), rather than on PSU as a whole, and on the contextual factors that may be related (e.g., parental motives). On the contrary, the number of works comparing preadolescents and adolescents’ PSU levels is limited. In the present study, by administering both self- and parent-report questionnaires, usage habits of 121 participants, divided into two groups (preadolescents: 8-13 years old, Mage = 11.23, SD = 1.55; adolescents: 14-18 years old, Mage = 15.48, SD = 1.26) were considered, aiming to find differences between them. Moreover, we tried to identify which variables were significantly associated to PSU, considering other technology related problem behaviours (e.g., social media and videogames), time spent online and parental motives in allowing their children using the Internet. Results suggest a different usage pattern between groups, but none of them scored as PSU, and that parents are driven by different motives when it comes to allow their children use the Internet. Moreover, data are consistent with previous findings of PSU as a composite phenomenon, instead of problematic smartphone use per se.