The Yin and Yang of smartphones: an interview study of smartphone use and its effects

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to study smartphone use and its positive and negative effects and to provide recommendations for balanced use. Design/methodology/approach To study phone use, this paper applies the uses and gratification theory and gathered interview data from 24 participants on the participants’ frequency of use, mode of communication, people contacted and the reasons for using their phones. This paper analyzes the pros and cons of using smartphones using the Yin-Yang worldview. Findings This paper finds that people use their smartphones for communication, entertainment and other specific functions. Ease of communication and multitasking are the key benefits, and overuse and disconnect from the real world are the detriments in smartphone use. Research limitations/implications The findings can enable future researchers and practitioners to view smartphones and their effects more holistically, rather than seeing it only from the negative or the positive lens. Practical implications The proposed framework can help the reader to consider their daily use of smartphones and their ways of balancing their presence in the virtual and the real worlds. Originality/value This paper proposes the Yin-Yang framework of smartphone use and provides recommendations for effective usage.