*Article* **Problematic Relationships with Smartphones of Spanish and Colombian University Students**

### **Verónica Marín-Díaz \*, Juan Manuel Muñoz-González and Begoña-Esther Sampedro-Requena**

Education department, University of Cordoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain; juan.manuel@uco.es (J.M.M.-G.); bsampedro@uco.es (B.-E.S.-R.)

**\*** Correspondence: vmarin@uco.es; Tel.: +34-957212617

Received: 17 June 2020; Accepted: 22 July 2020; Published: 25 July 2020

**Abstract:** The presence of smartphones in the lives of the population in general, and of youth in particular, is evident, and is derived from elements such as the diversity of prices as well as the ease of access of all the resources that can be reached through the internet. With the use of a descriptive approach using a quantitative poll, the objective of the present study was to discover the opinions of university students in Spain and Colombia about smartphone use, as well as the consequences of its use, and if this use could derive into so-called problematic smartphone use (PSU). For gathering the information, the *Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale* (MPPUSA) was utilized, with a sample size *n* = 4009. The main result reached was that the model obtained is structured around six factors that determined the elements in light of PSU. The initial conclusion found was that the model applied can be utilized with Colombian students, with young Spanish women and students in the macro area of Social Sciences, the ones who had problematic behavior with the devices, as compared to the Health Sciences students who did not have it.

**Keywords:** problematic smartphone use; university student; internet; MPPUSA

### **1. Introduction**

It is a known fact that the present society is digital and that the so-called Information and Communication Technologies (from here on ICT) coexist with us systematically, allowing for the interactions with fellow humans to occur at anytime and anywhere [1]. All of this is thanks to the universalization of the internet in general, and the tools which we can use through it, as these tools provide abundant means for socializing with others, perform consultations of any kind, search for knowledge, entertain ourselves, etc. [1–3].

The IWS [4] points out that in 2019, there were more than 4 billion people connected in the world, and in the specific case of Spain [5] this figure was the non-negligible amount of 42.4 million users and in Colombia more than 31 million people from a population of more than 49 million [4,6]. In both countries, 96% and 63% of users accessed the internet through their smartphones, respectively.

Nowadays, independently of the country where we live, the smartphone is one of the key technologies for the population at large. The diversity of the possible functions of these devices, apart from the use for which they were originally conceived [7], has made them become a key feature in the processes of socialization and learning of children, adolescents and young adults. As indicated by many studies [8–12], these devices allow accessing a great variety of content presented in different formats, messaging services and social networks, allowing for the development of different skills and competencies beyond the digital, allowing access to other technological resources, etc., which makes them even more attractive.

Related to this, diverse studies [13,14] have shown that Spanish university students, most of whom are younger than 35 years old, use smartphones from a social, academic and personal point of view. Likewise, for Colombian university students [15], smartphone use has different aims, such as navigating on the internet, or checking e-mail. It is unquestionable that the use of this device has increased around the world in the last few years, especially in the population within this age range (university students younger than 35). This has extended its use to the area of education, where some studies [16] have shown the student's habits within and outside university spaces, where in the first scenario it is commonly used in transportation and outdoors; while in the second scenario the classrooms, the hallways and the libraries are the most exploited places. It is precisely the attractiveness they possess that has resulted on their use increasing exponentially, with some authors [3,17–19] already speaking about the problematic use of smartphones.

Before continuing, it should be mentioned that within the scientific community, there is no clear definition of this behavioral disorder, as we have found authors who discuss the problematic use of the device [3,17–19], while others prefer to talk about addiction [1,2,20–22]. However, the purpose of this study is not to delve into this debate, as the starting position of this work is that only a problematic relationship exists [17,18], detailed on the fifth version of the *Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders* [23] which points to this relationship not having an addiction factor, given that this publication only mentions addiction in cases of pathological gambling and a behavioral disorders. Thus, it is understood that only a problematic use of the device exists, indicating that a medical condition recognized by the entire community does not exist [11].

On the other hand, some authors [17,24–27] point to factors such as the lack of sleep, hyperactivity, insecurity when driving, anxiety, depression, personality disorders, etc., associated to harmful behaviors such as in the use drugs including heroin, alcohol, cannabis, speed, etc., that although not linked to technologies, have been observed in the population who have a problematic use of mobile phones. Nevertheless, some research studies [28] suggest that there is a common factor among the addictive behaviors in the use of substances and the internet, the impulsivity which is manifested, among other aspects, by low academic performance or low levels of concentration, however, this cannot be extrapolated to an addictive use of the smartphone.

At the same time, it should be pointed out that as [11] indicate, the population, who along with adolescents, are the main population at risk of having a problematic use of the devices, are the university students, given that they consider the device as part of them [11,24]. On the other hand, the fear of being left out of relationships and developing the so-called FOMO syndrome [29], makes this population group more susceptible to developing a behavioral disorder, which is translated into the problematic use of the phone.

Mobile phones, as previously indicated [1–3,30], provide their users with numerous gratifications which begs the question of what type of relationship we as individuals have developed towards them or with them. Some research studies have determined that a variable that determines the presence of problematic use is the amount of time spent utilizing the devices [11,30,31], while others indicate that the variable gender is the one that defines this relationship, with women showing a greater relationship with them. Thus, works such as [32] point out that younger people aged 18–29 years old have a high dependency on their mobile phones, which can lead to the individuals developing an emotional support relationship [18]. These aspects, in the education sphere for example, have resulted in some education centers prohibiting their presence in the centers [8].

As a result and given the high number of connections produced with smartphones in Spain and in Colombia [4–6], it is necessary to clarify the attitude of university students towards these devices. In this sense, the main objective of the present research, which will be described below, is to discover the opinions of the university students in Spain and Colombia on the use of smartphones, as well as the consequences of this use. Studies conducted among Spanish and Colombian university students [8,12,17,18] have brought to light that this scale fits the smartphone user profile, as well as the needs of the context.

The main conclusions found are: on the one hand, that younger students show a problematic use of smartphones [18,32], and in general, women more frequently display this behavioral disorder [11,30,31], without differences also found as a function of the country of origin.

The main objective of the research was to analyze the behavior of the six MPPUSA factors according to sex, age, country, macro area and self-perception in the problematic use of the smartphones by university students from Spain and Colombia. This general objective, at the same time, is concretized in the following specific objectives:


### **2. Materials and Methods**

The design of the study utilized a descriptive approach with a cross-sectional, quantitative survey, due to the numerical and reliable nature of the data collected, and the use of a deductive and structured research strategy.

#### *2.1. Sample*

To select the sample, non-probabilistic, convenience sampling [33] was utilized, given that the questionnaire was provided to the students whom the study researchers had access to during 2017–2018 academic year.

The sample was comprised by a total of 4009 students, of which 60.1% were female and 39.9% male, distributed in the following manner: 2965 were enrolled in the National Open and Distance University (UNAD), Colombia (74.0%) and 1044 from the University of Cordoba, Spain (26%). As for the student profiles, the macro area of enrollment was considered, addressing the five university macro areas established in both countries, which were: Social and Judicial Sciences (S and JS, *n* = 1911, 47.7%), Health Sciences (HS, *n* = 726, 18.1%), Arts and Humanities (A and H, *n* = 164, 4.1%), Experimental Sciences (ES, *n* = 168, 4.2%), and Engineering and Architecture (E and A, *n* = 1039, 25.9%), as well as age, as shown in Table 1.


**Table 1.** Profile of the students as a function of the macro area, age and country.

Notes: SJS = Social and Judicial Sciences; HS = Health Sciences; AH = Arts and Humanities; ES = Experimental Sciences; EA = Engineering and Architecture.

#### *2.2. Instrument*

The data collection instrument utilized in this research was based on the Mobile Phone Problematic Use Scale for Adolescent (MPPUSA) [34], it is contextualized to the Spanish-speaking population. This questionnaire is anonymous, with closed-ended questions and polythematic, with a Likert-type response scale, ranging from complete disagreement (1) to complete agreement (5). The factorial structure was determined through an Exploratory Factorial Analysis (EFA), using the principal components method for extracting the factors, with the following indices of adjustment: KMO = 0.98, Bartlett's sphericity test with *p* < 0.001, and a total explained variance of 56.83%. The classification of the MPPUSA items by [35] was used as a reference providing the following structure with six dimensions as a result:


As for reliability, it was measured through the internal consistency approach, obtaining a Cronbach's alpha value of > 0.90, for the dimensions as a set, as well as individually, demonstrating the high reliability of the instrument.

Lastly, an item with a dichotomous answer (yes/no) was included about the self-perception they considered they had about the problematic use of Smartphones (explaining it according to [19], as a persistent deterioration or anguish), formulated in the following terms: «I believe I have a problematic use of the Smartphone», as well as a series of independent variables from the academic area (macro area) and sociodemographic areas (age, gender and country).

Lastly, the instrument had a total of 26 items written as statements and structured into the six dimensions previously mentioned,
