Behaviour & Information Technology ( IF 3.7 ) Pub Date : 2021-05-20 , DOI: 10.1080/0144929x.2021.1929489 Xueqing Li 1 , Michael Chan 2
ABSTRACT
Smartphone ownership is growing rapidly in China. Using a national sample of smartphone users, this study examined how different uses of the smartphone were related to emotional and psychological well-being, while examining the mediating role of perceived information overload. Results showed that social use, informational use, and entertainment use of the smartphone were positively associated with various indicators of well-being, while social use of the smartphone was also related to perceived information overload. Moreover, perceived information overload mediated the relationship between social use and psychological well-being. The findings point to the important role of perceived information overload in attenuating the potential positive effects of social uses of the smartphone on well-being.