A new study has shown which countries have the highest levels of smartphone addiction! Scientists from McGill University, Canada, analyzed data on phone use between 2014 and 2020 from almost 34,000 participants in 24 countries around the world.
China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia were in the first places. But Germany and France are at the bottom of the list!
“We conducted a meta—analysis of smartphone usage, paying special attention to young people,” the team’s article says. “Problematic smartphone use increased globally between 2014 and 2020, and we expect this trend to continue.”
For the study, the team examined 81 previously published studies of phone use by teenagers and young adults, all based on the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). SAS is the most widely used indicator of smartphone addiction, allowing you to understand how the phone affects everyday life.
The participants ranged in age from 15 to 35 years, although the average age in general was 28.8 years, the majority of participants were women (60%). The researchers assigned each country a score for problematic smartphone use in the range from 10 to 60. China took the highest place, scoring 36 points out of 60.
The researchers suspect that a possible explanation for the differences may be social norms and cultural expectations associated with the importance of regular contact with smartphones. The countries with the least problems with smartphone use – Germany and France – are “individualistic and culturally free,” so they may not comply with such norms.
In general, the results showed that the number of problems with the use of smartphones is growing all over the world, which can have “psychological consequences”.
Dependency rating:
1. China (36,18)
2. Saudi Arabia (35.73)
3. Malaysia (35.43)
4. Brazil (32)
5. South Korea (31.62)
6. Iran (31.52)
7. Canada (31.11)
8. Turkey (30.92)
9. Egypt (29.54)
10. Nepal (29,41)
11. Italy (28.82)
12. Australia (28.61)
13. Israel (28,29)
14. Serbia (28.16)
15. Japan (27.71)
16. United Kingdom (27.69)
17. India (27.2)
18. United States (26.68)
19. Romania (25.52)
20. Nigeria (24.73)
21. Belgium (24.24)
22. Switzerland (23.45)
23. France (20.29)
24. Germany (18,44)