Investigating the Relationship between Smartphone Addiction and Loneliness and its Impact on Motivation to Progress in High School Students

Background: Problematic use of new communication technologies, such as smartphone, declines social relationships and increases loneliness. The purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between smartphone addiction and loneliness, the motivation to progress and other relevant variables among high school students. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted in Sari, Iran, in 2016. Using stratified cluster random sampling, 348 high school girls and boys (first year of high school) were selected as the study sample. Informed consent, demographic information, Loneliness Scale-Version, motivation to progress questionnaire, and smartphone addiction scale (SAS) were obtained from all students at the baseline. Data were analyzed using SPSS software version 22.0. Results: The study sample consisted 396 students, including 208 (52.2%) females. According to findings, Telegram application is widely used among the students. Parental educational level, loneliness and motivation to progress are negatively correlated to smartphone addiction. Additionally, factors such as the gender (p<0.001), the type of communication software (Telegram) (p=0.04), and the father’s educational level (p=0.04) significantly predicted smartphone addiction among students. Conclusion: The parental educational level especially father, gender of student, has a negative relationship with smartphone addiction, loneliness, and motivation to progress. Based on the results, the first year high school students are exposed to the risks and consequences of communication technologies. Therefore, it is imperative for Ministry of Education of Iran to consider the teaching programs about the proper usage of social network-related applications for students.