Аlways with them: smartphone use by children, adolescents, and young adults—characteristics, habits of use, sharing, and satisfaction of needs

Because of the extensive use of smartphones by children, adolescents, and young adults, we set out to explore the characteristics and habits of usage of smartphones from their perspective, and to examine the relationship between usage habits and the satisfaction of needs. As part of a mixed-method study, 551 respondents from Israel completed the questionnaires, and 110 of the respondents were also interviewed. The study provides an explanation for the dramatic rise and the massive use of smartphones by children, adolescents, and young adults. The findings show that respondents feel that with the help of their smartphones they can maintain extensive communication with those around them, satisfying their important needs, and more. Respondents have become highly dependent on the use of various applications, which leads to an even more extensive use. As the use of smartphones increases, respondents feel that they are maximizing the potential offered by these applications.

Results indicate that respondents feel that smartphones satisfy various needs (Zilka, 2018). With smartphones, respondents are available to others and others to them, and they are connected in real-time to is happening in different areas of their life. They feel that they engage in extensive and productive communication, which they would not be able to do without the smartphone. They share their activities with others, and others share with them. In addition, it was found that children, adolescents, and young adults attach great importance to the connection with others, to their own availability and to that of others, and equally to the content and messages they receive and send. The results indicate that children, adolescents, and young adults developed a high dependence on the use of various applications in their daily lives, and that the use of applications leads to even greater use. It was that the SNAs are the most popular applications among the respondents. Just over half of them stated that they use SNAs as an effective means of interpersonal communication.