Smartphones are designed in large part to capture and maintain our attention. It is unclear which individual differences are most relevant to understanding variation in problematic smartphone use. To investigate this, I used backwards regression to identify key predictors, then used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) to analyze how smartphone use relates to these predictors. This model was created using survey data from over 1,800 UWEC students over multiple years that included questions about amount of phone use, phone reliance (dependence), and nomophobia (fear of lacking functional phone access), as well as attention-related measures such as mindfulness (sensitive awareness of the present moment), impulsivity (urge to act without thinking ahead), and ADHD-related attention difficulties. Modeling efforts so far suggest that attention difficulties were the greatest predictor of problematic smartphone use, but also that mindfulness reduced that risk. Two possible interpretations for these results are that 1) having attentional difficulties predisposes one to problematic phone use, but less so in more mindful individuals, and 2) heavy/problematic phone use alters attentional traits, but higher mindfulness may mitigate that impact.
