Smartphone Use and Psychological Well-being: the Moderating Role of Emotion Regulation

Smartphones have become a seemingly indispensable device in everyday life. Although research on this phenomenon has mostly investigated the intensive use of smartphones as a risky behavior, recent studies suggest that different types of use can lead to positive outcomes. This study investigated the moderating role of emotion regulation in the association between smartphone use and functional impairment, and between smartphone use and psychological well-being, besides exploring moderating effects of types of smartphone use. A total of 308 individuals participated in an online survey. Participants responded to standardized measures of emotion regulation strategies, psychological well-being, and functional impairment, and reported on their smartphone use including actual hours of use recorded on their smartphone. As expected, smartphone use was negatively associated with psychological well-being; however, cognitive reappraisal presented a moderating effect, weakening this relationship. When cognitive reappraisal was associated with use for communication, this negative relationship was even weaker. On the other hand, while smartphone use was positively associated with functional impairment, emotion suppression presented a moderating effect, strengthening this relationship. And when emotion suppression was associated with use for entertainment, this association became even stronger. The findings demonstrate that implications of smartphone use vary according to types of use and emotion regulation strategies.