A study by:

Cameron Dayley
Cameron Boehning
Stephanie Monson
Stephanie Beswick
Cell Phones and Anxiety Among BYU-I Students
Study Completed For
Comm 280:
Research
Fundamentals
Message Send
Table of Contents
Public Relations Plan

Abstract............................................................................................................................
Literature Review..............................................................................................................
Meta-Question.................................................................................................................
Methods...........................................................................................................................
Findings...........................................................................................................................
Discussion of Findings....................................................................................................
Bibliography.....................................................................................................................
Appendix
Survey...............................................................................................................................
Additional Charts..............................................................................................................
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2
6
7
8
11
13
14
15
1
Abstract
Background: Recent studies have shown that when mobile devices are in use there seems to
be a correlation to anxiety levels that college aged students feel. While the studies have shown the
correlation seems to increase the anxiety there is no defnitive answer to know if mobile devices
actually creates the anxiety.
Methods: To test to see if mobile devices play a role in anxiety levels for students at attend BYU-
Idaho a survey was sent out to 300 students emails and asked for them to answer the questions
about their mobile device use and anxiety levels.
Results: It seemed to be that anxiety levels were the same among students who have
smartphones versa regular phone. The anxiety levels increased when the amount of time spent
on the internet while on the mobile device. While women have a higher baseline anxiety level, men
suffered from more anxiety in short term while waiting for a return text message.
Conclusion: There is a relationship between mobile devices and anxiety levels, but the
correlation comes from amount of time spent on device and what is being done.
Keywords: Mobile device, anxiety, smartphone
2
Research has been conducted to learn what effects mobile devices have on users, and if anxiety
is involved. One study was observed undergraduate students who were allowed to chat from any
computer with internet access, including their personal computers and school computers on
campus. The study was broken into different times where students were asked to surf the web.
After their mandated session, the students completed surveys and had one-on-one interviews
with the researchers. The results of the research were readily apparent. The results stated that
when students were chatting on the internet with others, their emotional levels were raised. After
the conversation was over, their emotional levels digressed at exponential rates.
However, the overall fnding was that the internet does not cause depression or low self-esteem.
Researches stated that although the results were negative, outside variables could have caused a
lack of results. As the internet progresses in depth, researches believe that these emotional levels
will be affected and cause participants health levels to decrease.
Texting is a simple way for people to become confdent behind a screen. Studies show that those
who text more intimately rather than briefly, with the intentions to plan events, tend to be more
anxious. Loneliness and anxiety correlate to a degree, but arent necessarily mutually exclusive.
The data showed that those who prefer texting to talking arent necessarily always lonely. This is
an interesting fnding because the results indicate that those who talk more were actually lonelier
overall.
Social anxiety is the combination of fear, apprehension and worry people experience when they
anticipate being unable to make a positive impression on others, particularly in encounters with
strangers in public settings. Texting allows a person a way to communicate with people without
the fear of immediate approval.
When people text, they have the ability to reflect on what they want to say before they say it. This
plays well to those who are socially anxious. They can say what they need to without directly
dealing with another person. Cell phones are a great tool for people, but they can be detrimental to
them if they dont learn to control their emotions.
Another study explored cell phone addiction, particularly the many characteristics that make cell
phones so attractive to adolescents. When adolescents possess a cell phone, it gives them a
sense of freedom and identity. It becomes a source of fun and entertainment and actually helps
them develop and maintain relationships. Cell phones, especially smartphones, are capable of
doing so much, they fascinate the youth of today.
Cell phones can be a positive thing; but if their use is uncontrolled, they can become a negative
thing. Some of the negative side-effects of cell phones can include social, behavioral, and mental
problems. Some of the most common symptoms of cell phone dependence are: a disconnect
parents due to extensive use; high costs due to overusage; interference with school or personal
activities; and the cell phone is used frequently to satisfy emotional needs, to feel connected while
alone.
Literature Review
3
The research indicates that dependency on cell phones can change the attitude of a person and
invade time during the day. Abuse of cell phones creates a lack of impulse control and has made it
necessary to fnd a cure for this addiction.
The research of this study was based on a group of young adults 20-24 years of age. The group
members each completed a survey that investigated how cell phones affected stress levels,
what amount of sleep lost due to phone usage, and personal perceptions of cell phone use. The
results provided information confrming that high cell phone usage creates higher stress levels
and depression in young adults. A year after the initial survey, the students were contacted and
surveyed. The results of the second survey indicated that the risk for mental health problems was
highest among those who constantly needed the assistance of cell phones to function.
Not only did the young adults need their cell phones to function, they contributed to a loss of
sleep during the night due to alerts. They also started show that the cell phone was an addiction
for them and a cause of depression. This research provided results indicating that there is a
relationship with cell phone use and mental health problems that is rising in todays culture.
Technology is starting to take over and making it hard for the upcoming generation to function.
Because of this, there are more cases showing up of mental health problems, depression, and
stress due technology dependence.
Another study was conducted to examine how cell phone use is related to interpersonal motives
for using cell phones, including face-to-face communication and loneliness. The introduction to
the study discussed another study that found that cell phones fulfll users various needs better
than other forms of media, such as emails, IMs, and landline telephones.
One of the studies observed that people used cell phones to enhance existing interpersonal
communication, to communicate with other people within already established interpersonal
networks. One of the studies identifed carrying a cell phone as being connected and ready to
communicate with others. Another identifed that the desire forperpetual contact (i.e., the pursuit
of the ideal of communication) is the motive for the peoples use of communication technology.
There are a number of motives for carrying a cell phone ranging from mobility, immediacy,
fashion, and status. The study also demonstrated similar motives: information-seeking, social
utility, affection, fashion and status, mobility, and accessibility. This study found that people still
spend about 90% of their time making phone calls when using cell phones. It also found that
loneliness did not have a direct relation to cell-phone use. Instead, the participants with higher
levels of loneliness were less likely to engage in face-to-face social interaction, which led them to
use cell phones less and to be less motivated to use cell phones for interpersonal purposes.
Another study was designed to assess Internet and cell phone use among college students and
to what level they were dependent upon those technologies. In addition to assessing cell phone
usage, this study was designed to evaluate if students were addicted to the technology. In the
beginning of the report, the researchers stated that there is evidence of association between
4
internet overuse and anxiety, depression, social isolation, low self-esteem, shyness, and lack of
emotional and social skills.
Another factor that the study discussed was that full-time students are more likely to be addicted
to the Internet due to the unlimited access and flexible time schedules. The discussion in
the research indicated that the main objective of the study was to identify the presence of
pathological Internet and cell-phone usage in the studied sample, as well as psychological,
behavioral and health correlates.
One of the frst fndings of the study was that there was little to no correlation between substance
abuse or dependence and pathological Internet usage. Some limitations were named in the
study that included the lack of ability to assess any other disorders of participants, any potential
explanation for participants lying or being affected by biases, among others. Another fnding
showed that there was a correlation between cell phone usage and depression (clinical or
non-clinical). The studies referenced in this one also show some evidence that people have an
emotional dependence with their technological devices as evidenced by the thought that users
could not live without their cell phone.

Something that was not frequently referenced, but is relevant is how different methods digital
communication, such as texting and instant messaging (IM) influence social anxiety and
communication between teens. The study that was done took included the responses from 280
high school students. Teens reported on how frequently they used cell phones to text message
and access social media sites. The fnding was that 24% of teens used a cell phone in this way for
1-4 hours a day.
Another fnding from this study is that female teenagers use cell phones and social media more
frequently than their male counterparts. The study discovered that there is a correlation between
having social anxiety and talking with others via online or with text. Earlier in the study, it was
discussed that females used cell phones more frequently. This study was also able to establish
that females naturally have more social anxiety than do males. It is interesting to note that this
study did take great measures to also defne social anxiety as we know it.
For the purpose of this study, anxiety was defned as being uncomfortable with face-to-face
communication. Teens that have a natural tendency to experience social anxiety use cell phones,
texting, and social networking more frequently. Two major benefts of this study come from the
technological implications of our world of communication amongst developing teens, and the vital
gender differences that exist between teenage male and females. At the end of the study, females
said they felt more comfortable with text messaging than did males.

A study was done to distinguish the difference between anxiety and the personality trait of
shyness. Whereas many do experience shyness and fnd it unappealing to draw attention to
themselves, anxiety has a physical reaction and causes panic.
5
The article found that 33% of teens owned a cell phone in 2005. It also found that females tend
to use their cell phones more frequently than males. Teens stated that the use of text messaging
is preferable because of the level of control it gives them over a conversation. They have more
influence over the length of the conversation and the quality of conversation, due to the fact that
there is an unlimited amount time to respond.
In order to measure the level of anxiety that young adults experienced, the blood pressure of each
young adult was measured during two weeks. During that time, social technology was either
restricted or allowed to be used at a normal rate. Another item measured was autonomy, or how
independently detached from others the college students seemed to be. This was measured by
observing the physical and mental stress levels each student experienced. The study found that
restricting social technology does have an impact on the levels of anxiety a young adult feels. It
was also found by the researchers that social technology does not have an impact on students
autonomic activity, or how they act in a non-dependent and isolated manner.
The purpose of this study was to discover how technology impacts the amount of sleep, the
quality of sleep and the depression or anxiety that could result from a lack of sleep. These were
compared with the amount of time college students are awake due to the use of technology.
The study asked 236 college students to complete a questionnaire and keep a sleeping journal for
about a week. The study found that 47% of students reported waking up in the night to answer
a text message and 40% reported waking up to answer a phone call. A correlation was found
between technology use and sleep quality. Higher technology usage correlated with poorer sleep
quality. Those with poorer sleep quality were found to have higher levels of depression and anxiety.
The fndings in this survey showed that quality of sleep can regulate the effects of technology
on a college students level of depression or anxiety. The researchers indicated that it would be
interesting to see how college students who have poor sleeping boundaries are psychologically
affected after a long period of time.
In this study, no fndings were found to be gender-specifc in terms of technology use. No fndings
were gender-specifc as to the levels of depression or anxiety a college student would feel.

Lastly, researchers examined how college students use of technology to communicate with
parents is associated with the quality of their parental relationships, as well as their type
of attachment and levels of loneliness. A survey was conducted to distinguish the levels of
communication. The survey consisted of three sections where participants selected responses
to describe their communication patterns with each of the three types of people: (a) best friend;
(b) romantic partner or, if not currently in a relationship, another close friend; and (c)closest family
member.
6
The results were quite different in the different communication channels. For instance, Results
indicated that more frequent use of a SMS (text) to communicate with a parent or friend was
linked to greater loneliness. More frequent phone communication was associated with more
positive qualities about the parental/friend relationship: greater satisfaction, intimacy, support, and
instrumental aid. Also, college students who report more supportive, satisfying, and emotionally
intimate parental relationships talk to their parent on the phone more often. But those who
use a SMS (text) to communicate with parents report higher levels of loneliness and anxious
attachment, and conflict within the parental relationship. Technology is a great tool, but it also has
negative effects depending on the use.
All the research suggested that there is a correlation between anxiety levels and mobile device use.
In order to fnd how or if this was also a correlation on the BYU-Idaho Campus the meta-question
Do mobile devices increase anxiety levels was developed into a survey and sent out for research
to be found.
Meta-Question
Do mobile
devices increase
anxiety levels?
7
A survey was distributed to 300 BYU-Idaho students that set out to discover if a corelation
between cell phone usage and anxiety existed. Of the 300 surveys sent out, 68 were completed
and returned.
In order to obtain results that were as unbiased as possible, the survey was distributed randomly
to 300 students school email addresses from a pool of all students at BYU-Idaho. It was
determined that a survey would be the most effective way to obtain answers to the anxiety
question.
Survey questions, such as the ones used in this survey, need to be specifc enough so that people
understand the question and answer it in a accurate manner.
The frst questions in the survey were designed to gather demographic information such as: are
you male or female? Do you own a smartphone? How old are you? How anxious wold you rate
yourself on average (scale from 0 to 100)? These questions helped to give more defnitive answers
about what gender and age use smartphones more and to what degree the usage influences
anxiety.
Many of the questions used a Likert scale. The Likert scale works by giving a statement and
asking the student to what degree they agree with or disagree with the statement. The selections
are between strongly agree and strongly disagree.
This method of questioning provided answers with how the students really felt about different
statements. This worked better in this case than asking the students to answer with their own
answers because this allowed conclusions to be drawn more easily.
More questions were developed about what students use their phones for, how often they use
their phone each day, if they experienc anxiety when they are away from their phone and if their
phones are a distraction to them. This wide range of questions allowed the survey to help fnd
how much anxiety cell phones cause BYU-Idaho students, if any.
After the questions were developed, the survey was distributed.After some responses were
received, an additional invitation was sent to students to encourage those who hadnt completed
the survey to do so.
Methods
8
Findings
Finding One
Students use their Cell Phones/Tablet for: The
survey was a random survey where N=68
students, Texting (27%), Social Media (20%),
Homework (15%), Surfng the Web (13%),
Talking (13%), and Other (13%). The survey
results indicate that the majority of students
use their cell phone for texting. Anxiety is
caused by many different variables. This fnding
allows one to categorize where anxiety falls
based on ownership of a smartphone or tablet.
Social media is the second most area spent on
a smartphone or tablet. One must understand
that this is not a causation of anxiety by itself
meaning one could not eliminate 20% of their
social media intake and it would automatically
decrease their anxiety level by that percentage.
If one were to eliminate one of these selected areas it would only transfer their attention to one of the other areas
stabilizing their anxiety levels. This fnding is to categorize specifc percentages spent on their smartphone or tablet.
The survey indicates two specifc areas where most time is spent on ones smartphone or tablet while the other areas
have equal or close to equal percentages. However, Surfng the web has one of the lowest percentages in the given
areas with a 12.9% usage of time spent on a smartphone or tablet it has the highest R^2 value of.30. The percentages
we see here are only indicators of how students spend their time on their device. It is not a direct correlation to anxiety
levels.
Finding Two
Women report themselves more anxious overall than men. The survey results read as follows; Women report
themselves at a baseline anxiety level of 45% out of 100%, while men are at 34% out of 100%. Average baseline
anxiety presents itself as a feeling that occurs
throughout all hours of any given day. Men
are at average 11% less anxious than women
are at any given time. This information was a
presented randomly in a survey where N=68
students. 32 males and 36 females participated
in the survey allowing adequate information to
accurately depict the differences in men and
women throughout the day. The R^2 value
shown in the graph below for females is .58
which is signifcantly higher than the males R^2
value of .12. We can observe the differences
in the two genders and anxiety allowing one to
see how different variables, when added can
affect the anxiety levels. These variable would be tasks such as texting, surfng the web, social media, and talking. In
the graph below we see that the majority of women have a higher level of anxiety when they are in the ages of 18-21
(#1, Female Chart) , where men have the highest level of anxiety when they are 27+ (#4, Male Chart). A contributing
factor to these percentages are whether or not males or females owned a cell phone. N=68 students, 25 females
own a smartphone or tablet giving us a strong percentage of 69%. Males were at 71% when it came to owning a
smartphone or tablet. Furthermore, the 69% of females who owned a smartphone or tablet had higher levels of
anxiety and the same was with the 71% of males. Ownership of a smartphone or tablet correlates with higher baseline
anxiety levels.
27%
20%
15%
13%
13%
13%
What do students do with their cell phones?
Tex,ng/Email
Social Media (Facebook,
Twi@er, Others)
Homework
Surng the Web
Talking on the Phone
0
20
40
60
80
100
Females Males
Average Baseline Anxiety
(addi2onal charts in appendix)
9
Finding Three
The more time users spend surfng the web
correlates with higher anxiety. The R^2 value
to support this is .30. A linear regression
equation was done to determine the R^2 value.
This equation depicts the average percentage
surfng the web resulted in an increase of
anxiety. Surfng the web as we can see from
the graph above in the frst fnding has a mode
percentage of 12.9, but has the highest R^2
value when fnding origins of anxiety. The
survey presented to a group of N=68 students.
As the chart increases in percentage one can
see a steady incline of students and time spent
surfng the web. The R^2 value of .30 shows
the viewers that a strong correlation between
anxiety and web surfng. This fnding can be benefcial when fnding the origins of anxiety. The student outlier said
they spend 100% of their time on their smartphone or tablet surfng the web. On the other side of the spectrum three
student said they spend 0% of their time surfng the web. The survey produced adequate information suggesting that
30% of anxiety is affected by surfng the web. It is important to note that anxiety is correlated with surfng the web.
The R^2 value suggests a correlation between the two not causation. The linear regression equation helps denote
whether or not the survey gave adequate informational results to depict if surfng the web has an affect on our anxiety
levels, and the R^2 of .30 suggests it does.
Finding Four
The survey results indicate that men are more
anxious when away from their phone in the
short-run (< 1 hour). Whereas the results for
females indicate that women are more anxious
when they are away from their phone in the
long-run (1 hour+). As time elapses one can see
that women fall at 60% after 24-hours of being
away from their phones. Men are at 38% anxiety
level when they are away from their phone for
more than fve minutes. The results show a
vast leap for women. A 24% anxiety increase in
women when we compare fve minutes (36%) to
24-hours (60%). The results show that women
are more comfortable with being away from their
phone for a longer period of time than men are.
Men have a more steady anxiety level no matter if it has been fve minutes or 24-hours showing only a 16% increase.
The survey indicates that men after a one hour time lapse in being away from their phone has a 1% increase. At one
hour men have an anxiety level of 56% and an anxiety level of 57% after 24 hours. Furthermore, women have a greater
level of anxiety between one hour and 24 hours with a percentage increase of 4%. One can observe the differences
of anxiety between men and women as time elapses. Men have a more constant level of anxiety based on the
information given and women have more of an increase as time elapses (see chart below for more information).
y = 0.0343x - 0.2475
R = 0.30439
-1
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
How many hours each day do you use your
smart phone or tablet surf the web?
0
1
2
3
4
5
5 Min 30 Min 1 H 24 H 5 Min 30 Min 1 H 24 H
Anxiety based on .me, by gender
10
Finding Five
Younger students are more likely to own a
smartphone or tablet than older students. The
percentage who own, by age: 18-20 (71%),
21-23 (78%), 24-26, (60%), 27+ (67%). The R^2
value resulted with a .27 for the percentage of
students who own a smartphone or tablet by
age. The study was done to observe how age
correlates with ownership of a smartphone or
tablet. In linear regression analyses, anxiety,
attachment, and relationship indices were
regressed on the amount of use of each device
while including participant gender, age, and the
frequency of face-to-face contact as covariates
(see table below). However, when looking at the
chart we can see the line digressing which would make you assume there is no correlation with age and ownership
of the device. This thought would be false. The R^2 value of .27 allows one to observe the survey results had some
correlation between age and ownership of some smart device. The linear regression allows us to speculate that the
older the student is the less likely the student will be an owner of one of these two devices. The highest percentage
of students owning a smartphone or tablet fell in the age group of 21-23 years of age. The survey indicates that
students between the ages of 21-23 had the highest percentage of ownership of a smartphone or tablet at 78%.
However, in other fndings we see that students in the age category of 27+ had the highest levels of baseline anxiety
indicating that baseline anxiety is not caused by a smart device by itself.
y = -0.0308x + 0.7663
R = 0.2695
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
18-20 21-23 24-26 27 or <
Percentage who own a smartphone
or tablet, by age group
11
Discussion of Findings
In exploring the question, Does mobile device ownership and use increase anxiety, several
conclusions can be drawn. First, the meta-question must be addressed. Two crucial things to
consider are the ownership of a mobile device or smart phone, and the baseline anxiety of survey
participants. The second fnding shows that on average men are 11% less anxious than women
at any given time. Additional research indicates that overall, women feel more comfortable
texting than men (Pierce 2009). This may be an explanation for the interesting anxiety patterns
discovered in this research study. The fnding shows that men experience a more drastic increase
(3%) in anxiety levels during the frst hour of being away from their mobile device. After the frst
hour, the increase levels off. Women, on the other hand, experience negligible rises in anxiety
during the frst hour and a 4% increase from their baseline anxiety after that time.
It is possible that women feel the increase in anxiety after the frst hour due to the fact that
they are more comfortable with texting than men. It would also explain why men have a higher
rise of anxiety during the frst hour. Similarly, it is interesting to note that women naturally feel
more anxious than men by 11%. There could be a multiplicity of reasons for this. A common
assumption is that many women feel cultural pressures, such as body image, that cause them
to feel more anxious at any given time. Another potential cause for this is a womans body may
contain a higher percentage of anxiety-inducing hormones and chemicals. Additional research
would be required to fnd a solid correlation. Regardless of the speculations, it is clear that there is
a correlation between mobile device usage and anxiety. The next matter to address is whether or
not a specifc mobile device function is contributing to the anxiety more than other functions.
It was discovered through this research study that the most common use of a mobile device is
texting, followed by Social Media. The assumption was made that perhaps texting is the culprit
of this rise in anxiety. However, this was not the case. Upon further examination of the data it
was determined that time surfng the web had the strongest connection to anxiety. The longer a
user spent time surfng the web, the more anxious the user would begin to feel. The R^2 value to
support this fnding was a .30. It is likely that surfng the web includes Social Media, seeing as this
was the second most common use for mobile devices. This connection to web surfng may also
account for some of the additional fndings.
The percentage of students who own a smart phone by age are as follows: 18-20 (71%), 21-
23 (78%), 24-26, (60%), 27+ (67%). It is likely that the reason18 to 23-year-old students more
frequently own smartphones is because they have fnancial support from parents. Beyond the age
of 23, most students are fnancially independent and may not be able to afford a smart hone. You
can see this in the drop from ages 24-26. Then we see a rise in smartphone ownership with the
27+ age group. Most mobile device owners have a career in which they make enough money to
afford a smartphone. However, this same age group of 27+ has the highest baseline anxiety. This
would indicate that smartphone ownership itself does not contribute to anxiety. However, perhaps
web surfng is a factor in this just as it was a factor in the frst correlative fnding.
12
To be clear, mobile device use does increase anxiety levels as it facilitates surfng the web. Further
research could clarify many of the lingering questions. Future researchers may want to investigate
the baseline anxiety in younger generations exposed to more technology versus older generations.
Further research may also include further study on the most common web surfng activities to
differentiate between Social Media, entertainment and information gathering. A separate study
for gender differences may be enlightening as to why women naturally feel more comfortable
texting than men. This could be a contributing factor to women having a naturally higher baseline
anxiety. One last topic of research to consider would be the effect of texting on baseline anxiety
levels. This analysis could review, not only the quantity of the messages but the content within
them. Those who have higher anxiety may be found to receive more negative text messages.
Methods suggested for future research would include: surveys, focus groups, textual analysis, and
experiment.
13
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14
1. Are you:
__ Male __ Female
2. How old are you?
__ 18-20 __ 21-23 __ 24-26 __ 27 or older
3. On average, how anxious do you feel on a daily basis?
Scale from 0-100

4. Do you own a smart phone or a tablet?
__ Yes __ No
5. How many hours each day do you use your smart phone or tablet to do the following?
__ Homework __ Social Media (Facebook, Twitter, Others)
__ Texting/Email __ Talking on the Phone
__ Surfng the Web __ Any other
6. Rate your anxiety level if someone doesnt respond to your virtual outreach within:
7. To what extent do you agree with the following statements?

8. About how many texts do you send each day?
9. To what extent do you agree with the following statements?
Survey
Very
Unanxious
Somewhat
Unanxious
Neutral Somewhat Anxious Very Anxious
5 Minutes
30 Minutes
1 Hour
24 Hours
Very
Unanxious
Somewhat
Unanxious
Neutral Somewhat
Anxious
Very
Anxious
I sometimes purposely wait to
respond to a text message to
avoid appearing overly anxious.
I feel anxious when I am away
from my phone.
Very
Unanxious
Somewhat
Unanxious
Neutral Somewhat
Anxious
Very
Anxious
I wish texting was not such a
prominent part of communication
today.
Texting is an inconvenience
15
R = 0.57555
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4
Anxiety Among Women, by Age
1. 18-20
2. 21-23
3. 24-26
4. 27 or <
1. 18-20
2. 21-23
3. 24-26
4. 27 or <
Additional Charts
R = 0.12474
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
1 2 3 4
Anxiety Among Men, by Age