14 DAY TRIAL // Smartphone addiction can cause multiple inconveniences not only for affected persons but also for those around them. A study conducted in South Korea has found that women are more susceptible to smartphone addiction, compared to men.
The study was conducted by Professor Chang Jae-yeon of Ajou University based on a survey of 1,236 students at six colleges in the country, according to Korea Times. Results have shown that women are actually more addicted to smartphones than men, contrary to popular beliefs.
The study details that 52% of women in the survey use their handsets for four hours a day or even longer while only 29.4% of men spend so much time on their phones. 22.9% of women used their smartphones for six hours a day, more than double compared to the 10.8% of men.
Women use their smartphones mainly for checking social networking websites, mostly Facebook and Instagram. This idea is in line with some previous statistics that showed that more women than men registered with an account on Facebook. Men use their smartphones during break times while 37.2% of women constantly check their handsets even when talking to other people.
20.1% of women who participated in the study stated that they feel extremely insecure when they cannot use their smartphones while only 8.9% of men felt so.
The study reports that women’s desires for networking and communication are far stronger than men’s, which makes the fair sex more vulnerable to becoming dependent on social networking sites and the smartphones they access all throughout the day. The study concluded that women’s dependency is 10% higher, compared to men’s.