The long hours spent on smartphones

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Abstract
A smartphone or tablet is a highly productive device. Its use has magnanimously transformed, and the compulsive use of it can
cause severe disruptions on the social life, work, and relationship of an individual. Continued use of mobile devices reduces
interaction between an individual and real people (Norton, 2015). Despite the many documented advantages of owning a smartphone,
problematic smartphone use has been identified as an emerging public health issue. PSU is loosely defined as the compulsive use of a
smartphone that results in impairment in daily functioning. It is manifested more in reduced productivity, poor social relationships
physical health as well as a reduction in emotional well-being. Early research on PSU has mostly been restricted to the five major
personality factors extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism an openness. This initial research concluded that
higher neuroticism and lower conscientiousness could be identified in individuals with PSU (Lepp et al., 2015). Initial research had its
limitations; majorly it focused on the five major personality factors only. Also, it relied on more on short forms which are less reliable
measures. To achieve a conclusive understanding of the relationship and personality, the use of long-form comprehensive hierarchical
tests of large samples. This approach gives room to allow for a detailed analysis of both broad and narrow traits that eventually leads
to a more accurate prediction of PSU. This study seeks to address a gap in the literature by availing a comprehensive mapping of
personality for PSU. This is a relatively new phenomenon that was not present a quarter of a century ago. Research on it is still in its
infancy, and its definition is still undergoing a rapid metamorphosis. Some researchers define the compulsive use of a smartphone that
leads to disruptive behaviors. Other researchers go further and accurately identify the physical manifestations of PSU. They include
not being able to go for an hour or more without checking the phone or tablet. Some researchers prefer using the word problematic
smartphone use while others prefer to use the medical term addiction. In general, the researchers agree that there are overall features
synonymous with addiction (Noller & White, 2016).

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Introduction
There is an increased dependency on the smartphone for personal pleasure. Should the phone be withdrawn, craving associated
with a huge desire to be online will be manifested. PSU has had negative implications on the health of individuals elsewhere. For
instance, responding to social media messages when one goes to bed is the single most contributor to poor quality and quantity of
sleep in many individuals (Lee et al., 2014). The long hours spent on smartphones has led to a deterioration in the quality of romantic
relationships among couples. Some severe accidents have been as a result of smartphone use too. Most individuals who exhibit PSU
cannot often self-regulate. Students with PSU tend to concentrate less on their studies, which in turn results in poor academic grades.
There is need to have an authentic measurement of communication styles. This is considered important to demonstrate the relevance
of communication styles (Hormes et al., 2014). These styles Play a significant role in fostering healthy relationships amongst
technology users in society. PSU has brought about another emerging trait identified as fear of missing out. This is the desire to be
forever present online in an attempt to be ever-present on social media platforms. The increase in the desire to continually interact
with other individuals online over time becomes obsessive, and with time, displays behavior indicators akin to drug and substance
abuse. This paper is proposing a six-dimensional study that will be operationalized using a communication style inventory (CSI). This
paper will use the CSI definition fronted by other researchers (Dvorak & Hall, 2016) who defined a communication style as the
characteristic way a person sends verbal, para-verbal, and nonverbal signals in social interactions denoting (a) who he or she is or
wants to (appear to) be, (b) how he or she tends to relate to people with whom he or she interacts, and (c) in what way his or her
messages should usually be interpreted. (Demirci et al., 2015). The CSI inventory will conclusively differentiate between the six major
dominant communicative behavior scales. They are expressiveness, preciseness, verbal aggressiveness, questionings, emotionality,
and impression manipulativeness. Each will be consisting of four facet levels. The observation has necessitated the use of CSI
inventory that it is demonstrated the ability to be reliable across all domain level scales. It has surpassed the .80 level scale.

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Furthermore, it has been shown consistency in convergent validity across lexical communication marker scales and behavior-oriented
communication scales (Lepp et al., 2015).
Method
Procedure and participants.
A sample of a community of respondents was obtained by use of a localized ISO certified representatives’ internet generated
panel. The selected panelist was approached once, and they were required to fill out a questionnaire (Anglim et al., 2017). One
thousand seventy-nine respondents were chosen to participate in the research. All respondents filled the HEXACO personality
inventory question, the communication style inventory (Phillips et al., 2006). Male respondents were 197, representing 18.3%; female
respondents were 877, representing 81.3%, while five respondents were not classified. The minimum age for the study was 18 years,
and the maximum was 85 years. The mean age was 25.02 and representing a deviation of 8.8. One thousand sixty-four respondents
stated their ages. On the frequency of smartphone use, 1078 respondents responded to this question. One thousand seventy-six
respondents said they use their phones regularly, which were 99.7% of the sample size while two respondents gave a negative
response. This was 0.2% of the sample.
Instruments
The CSI had 96 devices. There were six domain scales, each consisting of expressiveness, preciseness, verbal aggressiveness,
questionings, emotionality, and impression manipulativeness. Each domain had four facets.