Background

 As the smartphone has become an essential part of everyday life. Problematic smartphone use (PSU) is defined as the inability to regulate one’s smartphone use, resulting in negative consequences for daily life. In studies dealing with smartphone use or PSU, mostly the negative consequences of use are considered.

Aims

Therefore, the aim of this study is to investigate aspects of Positive Psychology, in particular the relationship between experiencing online flow, media multitasking and PSU. We expect a positive correlation between PSU and experiencing online flow as well as between PSU and media multitasking. In addition, the role of the type of smartphone use (habitual, process, social) on experiencing flow and multitasking is investigated.

Method

A total of 374 subjects participated in the study (219 women, 154 men, 1 other; mean age, 31.7 years with a standard deviation of 15.5 years; range, 14 to 80 years). All of them completed the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale (MPPUS), the Media Multitasking-Revised Scale (MMT-R), and an adaptation of the Online Flow Questionnaire by Chen et al. (1999), which was adapted and converted into a scale for experiencing flow through the smartphone.

Results

In a simple mediation analysis it was found that the relationship between media multitasking on PSU is partially mediated by experiencing online flow. Regression analysis revealed that process use and habitual use are significant predictors of experiencing online flow, and process use, social use, and habitual use are significant predictors of media multitasking.

Conclusion

This highlights the particular relevance of media multitasking and the related flow experience besides other correlates, like for example cognitive impairment or psychopathological symptoms, when considering PSU. In addition, different types of smartphone use seem to play a different role for PSU in this framework.