Smartphone Dependency and Coping Strategies: A Correlation Study

In today’s digital age, smartphones have become an inseparable part of everyday life, especially for young adults. From staying connected with friends and family to attending classes, working, and seeking entertainment, smartphones play a central role in daily routines. While these devices offer convenience and constant connectivity, their excessive use has increasingly become a matter of concern. Smartphone dependency can be defined using DSM criteria, where an individual a) Is preoccupied with the smartphone, b) Needs to use the smartphone with increased amounts of time in order to achieve satisfaction, c) Has made unsuccessful efforts to control, cut back, or stop smartphone use, d) Is restless, moody, depressed, or irritable when attempting to cut down or stop smartphone use. For many of us, we don’t even realise when simple phone use slowly turns into addiction. Often, we turn to our phones not out of boredom, but to cope. Coping is the ability to mobilise cognitive, emotional and behavioural methods to deal with problems and manage the internal and external demands of stressful situations (Hamby et al.,2015). The present study aimed to discern the correlation between Smartphone dependency and coping strategies among young adults. Data were collected from 120 participants belonging to the age group of 18-25 years from the Delhi NCR region using purposive sampling. Measures included the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale-10 (MPPUS10) (Foerster et al., 2015), which is a shorter version of the original MPPUS-27 (Bianchi and Phillips, 2005) and the Coping Scale (Hamby et al., 2013). Data was analysed using descriptive statistics, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient was computed. Results indicated a statistically significant positive correlation between smartphone dependency and coping strategies (r = .22, p = .016). The relationship between smartphone dependency and both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping was also examined. Future research may include more diverse samples and investigate additional psychological variables, such as stress and anxiety, to better understand their role in shaping coping strategies. Further studies may also explore coping mechanisms such as emotion regulation, social support seeking, and distraction as ways individuals manage stress and psychological challenges.