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Abstract

Most Canadian adolescents own smartphones and use them daily. While research has increasingly focused on problematic smartphone use (PSU), a form of psychological dependence marked by symptoms such as withdrawal and continued phone use despite negative consequences, less attention has been given to habitual smartphone use (HSU), a more common pattern of automatic, cue-driven behaviours such as checking notifications. Because smartphone use is inherently social, adolescents’ social goals may shape how and why they engage with their devices. Motivations related to social acceptance (wanting to be liked by peers) and popularity-status (seeking social recognition) may influence patterns of smartphone use, especially during adolescence, when sensitivity to peer relationships, social status, and belonging is heightened. Therefore, this study examined how HSU and PSU develop across adolescence and whether adolescents’ social goals predict these trajectories. Participants were 1,828 adolescents (Mage = 14.59, SD = 1.47) from four secondary schools in Southwestern British Columbia, Canada, followed over three years. Latent growth curve modelling indicated that HSU and PSU followed largely distinct developmental patterns. Higher baseline HSU was not associated with increases in PSU over time; rather, adolescents who reported higher HSU initially tended to show less growth in PSU. At baseline, both social acceptance and popularity-status goals were associated with higher HSU, whereas popularity-status goals were uniquely associated with PSU. Average slopes for both HSU and PSU were non-significant, suggesting little group-level change; however, higher social acceptance goals were associated with decreases in HSU over time. These findings suggest that frequent or automatic smartphone use in adolescence is not inherently maladaptive and should not be conflated with problematic use, and that adolescents’ social goals help explain differences in how they engage with their phones.