Open AccessAlways Connected or Always Distracted? ADHD Symptoms and Social Assurance Explain Problematic Use of Mobile Phone and Multicommunicating
Author(s) -
Seo Mihye,
Kim JungHyun,
David Prabu
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of computer‐mediated communication
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.15
H-Index - 119
ISSN - 1083-6101
DOI - 10.1111/jcc4.12140
Subject(s) - social connectedness , mobile phone , psychology , phone , face (sociological concept) , internet privacy , clinical psychology , social psychology , computer science , telecommunications , linguistics , philosophy , social science , sociology
Multicommunicating via mobile phone during face‐to‐face encounters with family and friends was examined with data from an online survey of 432 adults in the US . Multicommunicating was positively associated with problematic mobile phone use and explained by attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ( ADHD ) symptoms and a social need to belong. Those with ADHD symptoms were more likely to engage in problematic mobile phone use and frequent multicommunicating. Strong need for social assurance, which involves an “always‐on‐and‐connected” lifestyle through mobile devices, explained problematic mobile phone use and multicommunicating. Need for social assurance also was related to multicommunicating via social connectedness, and this effect was significant among females, but not males. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.