Promoting psychological resources for coping with problematic media use: Development and evaluation of a training intervention

Abstract

Digital media have become an integral part of everyday life, education and work. However, intensive and problematic media use, and in particular problematic smartphone use has been shown to reliably predict reduced well-being and increased stress. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the factors that lead to problematic smartphone use and respective negative well-being outcomes and to develop interventions that effectively address these factors. Considering self-control and fear of missing out (FoMO) as key psychological factors promoting problematic smartphone use, we present a conceptual model explaining the emergence of digital stress due to problematic smartphone use, upon which we built a blended training intervention against digital stress. A controlled trial evaluation of the training intervention provided data at multiple time points for multilevel regression analyses on a sample of 175 university students. The results indicated that the intervention was effective in reducing FoMO (fear of missing out) and increasing self-control. Indirect effects suggested that both the reduction in FoMO and the gain in self-control effectively reduced emotional irritation and perceived stress via a reduction in problematic smartphone use. Conclusively, the findings identify key psychological factors that promote problematic smartphone use and demonstrate that these factors can be effectively addressed through appropriate psychological interventions.