Frequency and Duration of Daily Smartphone Usage in Relation to Personality Traits

Abstract

Objectives: Daily life behaviour can be studied by smart mobile devices. The current study investigated associations between personality traits and smartphone usage in daily routine.

Methods: 526 participants used the Track Your Daily Routine smartphone app (TYDR) for 48 days, on average (SD = 63.2, range 2 to 304). The Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2) was deployed to measure personality traits (Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness). We analyzed associations between personality traits and two indicators of smartphone usage: number of wakeups per day and session duration.

Results: Participants reached for a smartphone more frequently during weekdays with shorter duration of usage compared to weekends. Younger people used their smartphones more often but with a shorter duration than older people. Female participants spent more time using smartphone per session than male participants. Extraversion and neuroticism were associated with more frequent checking of the phone per day while conscientiousness was associated with a shorter duration of the session per day.

Conclusions: Frequency and duration of daily smartphone usage is associated with personality traits and participants demographics (age, gender). Implications for future research are discussed.