Situating Smartphones in Daily Life: Big Five Traits and Contexts Associated with Young Adults’ Smartphone Use

Smartphone use is now a common behavior in the daily lives of many people around the world. People differ in how frequently and how much time they spend using their smartphones, but the role of dispositions and contextual factors in explaining smartphone use in the moment are not well understood. In this paper, we examine individual differences in smartphone behavior to understand the independent effects of Big Five traits and four different contextual factors (places, people, co-occurring activities, and psychological situations) on the frequency and duration of smartphone use. Using survey, experience sampling, and mobile sensing data collected over the span of two weeks from two samples of college students (Sample 1 N = 634; Sample 2 N = 211), we conducted a series of multilevel Bayesian Gamma Hurdle and Negative Binomial Hurdle models to explain smartphone use (vs. non-use) and the degree of use. Our pooled findings suggest that Extraversion was associated with more frequent use, while Conscientiousness was associated with smartphone non-use and shorter durations of use. In terms of context, our findings show that smartphones were used more frequently when people were out and about in public places (e.g., cafes, stores) and less frequently in particularly social places (e.g., bars, friends’ houses). Smartphones were also used more frequently with weak ties (e.g., classmates, co-workers) and less frequently with close ties (e.g., roommates, family, significant others). Smartphones were also used less and for shorter durations when people were engaged in other activities (e.g., studying, commuting, chores, exercising), and when in situations perceived to be romantic or involving work. We discuss the findings with regard to past work on smartphone use and describe next steps for research on smartphone behavior.