Relationships of Smartphone Dependence With Chronotype and Gender in Adolescence

Abstract

Smartphone use has rapidly developed in recent years and become an established part of daily life in many countries. As various applications have been developed as communication tools for use with smartphones, allowing the internet to become more accessible, patterns of dependence have been routinely reported particularly among adolescents. In this chapter, the authors reviewed the previous studies about the relationships of smartphone dependence to chronotype and gender among adolescents. Chronotype refers to preference for sleep-wake timing: for example, morning types go to bed, get up, and experience peak alertness and performance earlier in the day than do evening types. It was found that the light emitted from media screen in the evening before bedtime may delay the circadian rhythm. In addition, excessive smartphone use may lead to sleep disturbances. Recent studies suggested that evening types and females may be more prone to become smartphone dependent.