Understanding the Dynamic Relationships among Interpersonal Personality Characteristics, Loneliness, and Smart-Phone Use: Evidence from Experience Sampling

Abstract

Smart-phone is a major channel of interpersonal communication. As the rapid development of communication technology, its function is becoming ever more powerful. Meanwhile, people are far more dependent on it. This study aims at investigating how long undergraduate students spend on their smart-phones everyday and the relationship between the time of smart-phone use and loneliness, as while as examining the role of interpersonal personality characteristics in moderating this relationship. The design of the study involved an experience sampling methodology (ESM), 97 undergraduates completed loneliness survey and reported time of smart-phone use every day for a whole week, resulting in a total of 679 observations. And the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-32) was used to attain their needs and motivations on interpersonal communication. Results showed that: a) college students spend 5.26±3.40 hours on the smart-phone including 2.37 hours for social communication, b) there is no significant correlation between the time of smart-phone use and loneliness, c) Social-Avoidant (FG) of IIP was negatively associated with smart-phone use, and Exploitable (JK) was positively associated with this time, especially on social communication, d) Cold (DE) impacts the degree of association between loneliness and smart-phone social communication, mainly in the aspect of online social communication.