Aggregated Roles of Smartphones in Young Adults’ Leisure and Well-Being: A Diary Study

Anna Irimias, Tamás Csordás, Kornélia Kiss and Gábor Michalkó
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Tamás Csordás: Institute of Marketing, Corvinus University of Budapest, 1093 Budapest, Hungary
Kornélia Kiss: Institute of Marketing, Corvinus University of Budapest, 1093 Budapest, Hungary
Gábor Michalkó: Institute of Marketing, Corvinus University of Budapest, 1093 Budapest, Hungary

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 8, 1-13

Abstract: Young adults spend most of their leisure time in the company of their smartphones. Drawing on the theory of digital well-being and on the concept of psychological sustainability, our aim is to investigate the relationship between digitalization-dominated leisure-time consumption to identify the aggregated roles of smartphones. We suggest that smartphones play different roles in young adults’ daily life. To test our predictions, we used a qualitative method, a two-day time-use diary with structured interviews; two sample groups were recruited for data gathering. The results of the content analysis and of the qualitative sentiment analysis show that mobile devices have a marked agenda-setter function, along with the functions of ‘separator’ and ‘enabler’. The use of smartphones leads to idleness and perceived timelessness while staying physically immobile. Results expand our knowledge on the aggregated role of smartphones in young adults’ activities. Wider society can benefit from the research findings, stimulating young adults to acknowledge the aggregated roles and functions of their smartphones and to develop their digital well-being.

Keywords: leisure time; smartphone; diary study; qualitative method; well-being; young adults (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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