Due to ‘stay-at-home’ measures, individuals increasingly relied on smartphones for social connection and for obtaining information about the COVID-19 pandemic. In a two-wave panel survey (N_Time2 = 416), we investigated associations between different types of smartphone use (i.e., communicative and non-communicative), friendship satisfaction, and anxiety during the first lockdown in Austria. Our findings revealed that communicative smartphone use increased friendship satisfaction over time, validating how smartphones can be a positive influence in difficult times. Friendship satisfaction decreased anxiety after one month, signaling the importance of strong friendship networks during the crisis. Contrary to our expectations, non-communicative smartphone use had no effects on friendship satisfaction or anxiety over time. Reciprocal effects showed that anxiety increased both types of smartphone use over time. These findings are discussed in the context of mobile media effects related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

由于“居家”措施，个人越来越依赖智能手机进行社交联系和获取有关 COVID-19 大流行的信息。在两波小组调查中（N _Time2= 416），我们调查了在奥地利第一次封锁期间不同类型的智能手机使用（即交流和非交流）、友谊满意度和焦虑之间的关联。我们的研究结果表明，随着时间的推移，使用交流智能手机会提高友谊满意度，验证智能手机如何在困难时期产生积极影响。一个月后，友谊满意度降低了焦虑，这表明在危机期间强大的友谊网络的重要性。与我们的预期相反，随着时间的推移，非交流性智能手机的使用对友谊满意度或焦虑没有影响。互惠效应表明，随着时间的推移，焦虑会增加这两种智能手机的使用。这些发现在与 COVID-19 大流行相关的移动媒体影响的背景下进行了讨论。