We are incessantly in a state of communication since the smartphone became
our constant companion. The many affordances of the smartphone are
undeniable: As social beings we need other people for our well-being and
therefore, mobile technology not only simplifies our lives, it also provides
us with multiple options to satisfy our psychological needs, such as the
need for relatedness. Nonetheless, being permanently connected, as it
appears to be norm these days, has its downsides as well: Quotidian negative
experiences (which might eventually lead to clinically relevant disorders)
are not yet well-studied. The 26 explorative interviews conducted in this
study (participants aged 18-65, being equally distributed with regard to
gender and education) intend to shed new light on this issue. The analysis
revealed nine common negative experiences as well as the respective motives
for experiencing them persistently. Additionally, a model is proposed,
extending the well-known uses-and-gratifications-approach.
Miriam Bartsch, Dipl.-Psych.
Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin / Research Assistant
Institut für Medien und Kommunikation / Institute of Media and Communication
Überseering 35 Postfach #20 (Büro 12014)
22297 Hamburg
<mailto:miriam.bartsch@uni-hamburg.de> miriam.bartsch@uni-hamburg.de
