ME NEITHER –
June 2026 – Eight focus groups were conducted involving 37 students aged 18-22 to explore how smartphones support and undermine well being, with addiction emerging as one of the themes. The data were matched against the established six criteria of behavioural addiction. I find that five of the six criteria are widely met, thereby justifying the term ‘addiction’. The findings show that the multi-functionality of smartphones cannot account for smartphone addiction.
