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Study design and setting

This is an institution-based, descriptive, cross-sectional study. It was conducted at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Khartoum, Khartoum state, Republic of Sudan in January, February, and March 2021.

We included all undergraduate medical students at the faculty of medicine, university of Khartoum (the total population was 2016 students from 6 classes, both males and females). We excluded students unwilling to participate.

With a total population (N) of 2016 and a level of precision (d) of 0.05; a sample size (n) of 333 students was calculated using the formula:(n=N/1+(Ntimes d^2 )). The sample was selected using proportionate simple random sampling.

The total population was divided into 6 classes that correspond to the academic years. The size of the student sample from each class was proportionate to the size of the class (56 from 1st year class, 54 from 2nd year class, 55 from 3rd year class, 59 from 4th year class, 57 from 5th year class, 52 from 6th year class). Students from each class were selected by simple random sampling.

Data was collected using an online, self-administered structured questionnaire (Google form) which consisted of sociodemographic data, social networking intensity (SNI) scale, and fear of missing out (FOMO) scale. Names were not included to ensure confidentiality.

The questionnaire (Supplementary 1) was developed for this study and composed of 23 items, divided into 3 sections. The socio-demographic characteristics section was composed of 6 variables (AgeSexBatchPlace of residenceMarital statusMonthly income) (Table 1). Participants were asked about the way they access the internet through most of the time (smartphones or laptops), and how they connect to the internet (Table 1). In social networking intensity section, a scale of 5 items was used to assess the level of social networking intensity (SNI) of each participant, each item used a 5-point Likert scale (1=Not at all true for me, 2=Slightly true for me, 3=Moderately true for me, 4=Very true for me, and 5=Extremely true for me), SNI score for each individual was calculated by summation of the five items. Scores ranged between 5 and 25 (5 represents low SNI and 25 represents the highest level of SNI). According to Salehan and Negahban, this scale has a good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.88 [8]. In our study, the Cronbach alpha coefficient for the SNI scale was 0.84 which suggests a good internal consistency and reliability for the scale regarding our sample (Table 2). SNI scores were classified into three grades: low (scores 510), moderate (scores 1119), and high (scores 2025).

In fear of missing out section, a scale of 10 items was used to assess FOMO among the participants, each item used a 5-point Likert scale (1=Not at all true for me, 2=Slightly true for me, 3=Moderately true for me, 4=Very true for me, and 5=Extremely true for me), FOMO score for each participant was calculated by summation of the ten items. Scores ranged between 10 and 50 (10 represents low FOMO and 50 represents the highest level of FOMO). According to Przybylski, Murayama, DeHann, and GladWell (2013), this scale has a good internal consistency, with a Cronbach alpha coefficient of 0.89 [9]. In our study; we had a Cronbarch alpha coefficient of 0.88 which suggests reliable results with good internal consistency for the FOMO scale regarding our sample (Table 3). FOMO scores were classified into three grades: low (scores 1020), moderate (scores 2139) and high (scores 4050).

Statistical Package for Social Science 26 (SPSS-26) software was used for data entry and analysis. Simple descriptive statistics were used to determine the frequencies and percentages of the different variables. Cronbach's alpha coefficient was calculated for the two scales to determine their internal consistency. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to assess the association between SNI & FOMO. Linear regression analysis was used to describe the relation between FOMO and SNI.

Independent t-test and one-way ANOVA were used to examine the associations and differences related to the socio-demographic groups.

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Social networking and fear of missing out (FOMO) among medical ... - BMC Psychology

Meta, the social media company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that this year it has taken down five networks of fake accounts originating in China that aimed to influence politics in other countries. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

Meta, the social media company that owns Facebook and Instagram, said Thursday that this year it has taken down five networks of fake accounts originating in China that aimed to influence politics in other countries.

China is stepping up efforts to manipulate people in other countries on social media, becoming the third most common source of foreign influence operations, behind Russia and Iran, according to Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram.

Meta has taken down five Chinese networks of fake accounts in 2023, the most of any country this year, the company said in a new report published on Thursday. That's a significant increase from 2019, when Meta first removed a campaign based in China, although the country's efforts over the years haven't gained much traction.

"This is the most notable change in the threat landscape compared with 2020," said Ben Nimmo, Meta's global threat intelligence lead.

The targets of the Chinese operations that Meta has disrupted include people in sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, Europe and the United States. The campaigns vary widely in how they work, but the focus tends to be on promoting Chinese interests, from defending Beijing's human rights record to attacking government critics, Nimmo said.

"There's a very kind of global mandate there. And they are using many different tactics. So we've seen small operations that try and build personas. We've seen larger operations using large, clunky, sort of spammy networks," he said. "The common denominator, other than origin in China, is really that they're all struggling to get any kind of authentic audience."

Most recently, Meta took down two China-based operations in the third quarter of this year. One was a network of around 4,800 Facebook accounts impersonating Americans and posting about domestic politics and U.S.-China relations.

Using fake names and profile pictures copied from elsewhere online, the accounts some of which also operated similar accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter copied and pasted posts on X from American politicians. The copying spanned political parties, including Democrats Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, as well as Republicans Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee and the presidential campaign war room of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"It's unclear whether this approach was designed to amplify partisan tensions, build audiences among these politicians' supporters, or to make fake accounts sharing authentic content appear more genuine," Meta said in its report.

The posts were obviously copied, with some including giveaways like "RT," indicating a retweet, and the @ symbol used before an X username. Some of the accounts reshared posts from X owner Elon Musk, as well as links to news articles and Facebook posts from real people. Meta said it removed the accounts before they were able to get engagement from real users.

The other network that Meta took down was smaller but more sophisticated. It consisted of 13 Facebook accounts and seven groups mainly targeting Tibet and India. The accounts posed as journalists, lawyers and human rights activists. Some also operated accounts using the same names and profile pictures on X.

They posted about regional news, sports and culture, criticized the Dalai Lama and accused the Indian government of corruption while praising India's army, athletes and scientific achievement. A handful posed as Americans and shared links to U.S. news outlets. Meta said about 1,400 accounts joined one of the groups before the groups were taken down.

Nimmo said the contrast in the two campaigns shows the range of tactics that China-based networks employ. "There isn't a single playbook which would apply to Chinese [influence operations]," he said.

Meta didn't attribute either network to a specific actor in China. Previously, the company has attributed other disrupted operations to the Chinese government, IT firms and Chinese law enforcement.

With a slew of elections on tap in 2024, including in the U.S., Taiwan, India and the European Union, Chinese operations may "pivot" to target discussions of relations with China in those places, Nimmo said. That will add to expected operations by Russia and Iran.

"Because we've already seen threat actors trying to hijack partisan narratives, we hope that people will try to be deliberate when engaging with political content across the internet," he said. "For political groups, it's important to be aware that heightened partisan tensions can play into the hands of foreign threat actors."

Russia, which Meta says remains the most prolific source of coordinated influence operations, has mainly been focused on undermining international support for Ukraine since its February 2022 invasion of that country. But recently, a Russian operation known as Doppelganger that impersonates news outlets has launched a new set of websites focused on American and European politics and elections, using names including Election Watch, Truthgate and 50 States of Lies.

"Much of their content appears to have been copy-pasted from mainstream U.S. news outlets and altered to question U.S. democracy," Nimmo said. "In addition, soon after the Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, we saw these websites begin portraying the war as proof of American decline. At least one website claimed that Ukraine supplied Hamas with weapons. Other websites in the cluster focused on politics and migration in France and Germany."

Meta said it is blocking those websites from its platforms and sharing the full list of Doppelganger-linked domains with other companies.

After Russian efforts to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election brought attention to the risks of foreign interference online, Meta and other tech companies came together with civil society groups, researchers and federal agencies to harden online platforms against such campaigns by sharing information, including tips about threats. But those efforts have recently come under legal and political pressure from Republicans who claim they amount to illegal censorship, and this coordination has begun to break down.

In its report, Meta said the U.S. government has "paused" sharing information about foreign election interference since July. That's when a federal judge issued an injunction barring federal agencies from communicating with social media platforms about most content. The injunction has been put on hold while the Supreme Court hears the case, but it has already had a widespread chilling effect.

Nathaniel Gleicher, Meta's head of security policy, said the company continues to share information about threats it uncovers with the government and other partners.

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Meta warns that China is stepping up its online social media ... - NPR

This is a tough subject.

As a trainer, I have a really hard time with social media and the time it takes our kids away from real time with their horsesthe hours and hours wasted on screen time that could be spent in the barn.

Ive lost track of how many times Ive heard I just didnt have time, or I didnt get to it, or I forgot from students. The practice and grooming and loving comes second to the screen, and the other things they have to dohomework, chores, jobsbecome more important than just being quiet with their horse. Im not sure kids even enjoy the little moments anymorethe inviting smell of the barn, the butterfly that their horse is watching, the loving look from their horse.

And then there are the posts. The endless no thought behind what is real, what is appropriate, what is hurtful, and what is just not necessary posts filling up their social media feeds are devastating to our sport.

Take the posts about horses. Why should everyone know something about someone elses horse? Why would anyone want to make fun of another persons horse? Why is it okay to bend the truth about things and for others to read those fabrications as if they are facts?

This sport is so special because of what it can teach a young personthe responsibility, the love, the grit, the hard work, the list goes on and on. As a trainer you need it all to go hand in hand so the rider can be the best of the best. And in real time, not on a screen or in a post.

Im not sure its even possible anymore with the time crunch of this increasingly digital world. Time spent at the barn was once freely given and is near impossible to duplicate. The lessons in patience and observation athletes would learn from watching their horse play with a butterfly or while driving across the country to a show cannot be taught. Its acquired through experience and is what fuels the passion, the drive, the desire to be the best.

You simply cannot replace the real time required, nor can you take back the images and the posts that they consume online.

As a trainer, I know there has to be a balance. I know social media isnt going away. But I feel the balance is too hard for a kid to grasp on their own and that less screen time can only mean more when it comes to riding.

As a judge, I cant help but think that screens are holding up the ring. I spend many minutes and hours in the judges box waiting for a competitor in the ring, but when I look up to see what everyone is doing ringside, theyre inevitably on their phones.

What would they be doing if their phone wasnt there to distract them? Would they be helping others? Would they be working and seeing others work, pushing our young ones to do as they see?

I wonder how we keep our sport alive and thriving in the digital age. The job of a judge is to rate and review the class the best you canand, in turn, you hope to inspire riders and the sport to grow. When you walk into the ring and the judge verifies where you are compared to the competition that day, it drives you to work and get better, to move to another division, etc.

But when you are distracted by a constant stream of social posts that are maybe not entirely correct or dont show the whole picture, what toll does that take, particularly on the mental health of children?

If phones werent within reach of every fingertip, would kids watch each others trips more? Would they learn from sitting at the ring? Would they actually see the judges perspective? Would there be less negativity about the judging if they watched all the trips in a class and understood what mistakes were made and why the ribbons went way they did? That is the piece that you cant always teach, but you get when youre in real time!

As a mom, the worst hat I wear is my social media police hat. You want your kid to be social and have friends and not be weird. You also want your kid to be their own person and to do what they love and contribute positively to society.

I know, as a mom, that working with a live animal and all that comes with that teaches our kids more, Id argue, than any other sport. Beyond the grit and determination and strategy of competition, horses teach empathy and resilience, failure and sacrifice, patience and perseverance. Horses teach ALL life lessons. But Im not sure kids learn from it now like we did when we had literally nothing else to do.

I have always pushed my kids to not have any screen time at all and, I can tell you, that doesnt work. So then you try to understand their side and get involvedand you experience the feeling it gives you and you dont want a kid to feel that way.

You hear that social media can help kids make connections they may not have otherwise. It can give them an identity in the horse world and help promote them. Networking is not only word of mouth anymore. Its social media spreading the word.

And, at the same time, it means they now have to grow up so fast! They have to understand how not to compare themselves to others, how not to get hurt by posts that arent truly directed at themhow to stay real in a virtual world.

As a parent, you have to teach them all of it before they go down a bad path of rage and devastation that social media can lead to. Kids dont get to live and learn anymore. They have to learn first. And as parents, we have to give them the tools to navigate that.

I know social media isnt going away. I also know itd be better for everyoneour kids, our horses, our sportif less time was lost to screens and if we we used social media more as a tool than a crutch.

Horses teach the same life lessonsand in a better wayall by themselves.

Dana Hart Callanan is a successful hunter, jumper and equitation coach, an R judge, and a sales broker. In this column, she answerscommon questions about A level sport.

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Q&A: What Is Social Media Doing to Our Kids and Our Sport? - Horse Network

Respondent demographics

Median age of respondents was 26 years (IQR 21.532.5), and all reported current engagement in commercial sex work at the time of data collection (Table1). 85% of respondents reported living in one of the three casas trans. Five respondents (25%) were born in Lima/Callao. Among respondents born elsewhere, median time spent living in Lima was 5 years (IQR 1.6-7). 35% of respondents reported being in a partnership and 55% reported having one or more dependents.

In SNIs, respondents nominated a total of 161 alters they had interacted with in the past month (Table2). Median age of alters was 26.5 years (IQR 22-39.5). Median social network size was 7 (IQR 6-10.5, range 317). 33% of alters were cisgender men, 34% were cisgender women, and 33% were TW. All respondents nominated at least one family member as part of their network, with family comprising 52% of alters. Seven respondents reported being in a partnership at the time of the study. There was overlap noted between TW networks, where several respondents nominated the same TW alter(s) (Fig.1A-D).

There was no difference in the perceived provision of emotional support based on alter relationship type (Table3) or gender identity (Table4). Family members were less likely to provide financial support (adjusted (a)OR 0.21, CI 0.080.54) compared to non-family members. TW alters were more likely to be considered sources of financial support (aOR 3.08, CI 1.227.75) compared to alters who were not TW. Being a family member was associated with a lower likelihood of providing instrumental support compared to non-family member alters, while being a TW was associated with a higher likelihood of providing instrumental support (aOR 6.24, CI 2.8113.84) compared to non-TW alters. Family members were less likely to provide HPS than non-family alters, while TW alters were more likely to provide HPS (aOR 3.24, CI 1.188.92) compared to non-TW alters.

Respondents reported weekly communication with 77% of non-family and 45% of family alters. Respondents reported weekly communication with 83% of TW alters compared to 49% of non-TW alters (aOR 6.95, CI 2.8217.10). Family members were significantly more likely to communicate with respondents via telephone and computer and less likely to communicate in person. In comparison, alters that were TW were more likely to communicate with respondents in person and less likely to communicate via phone.

Respondents primarily viewed family members as sources of emotional support that appeared to be valued despite the distance and superficiality of many of their interactions. However, several respondents did report more involved family members, which contributed to positive feelings and support for self-efficacy and health promotion.

In SNIs, 75% of respondents reported receiving emotional support from family members (Fig.1A). In qualitative interviews, almost all respondents identified a family member, most often a cisgender woman such as a mother or sister, as one of the most trusted, influential, and closest members of their network. Families were widely considered an important source of social and emotional support, which was often simply associated with their role as family members. Several respondents echoed the sentiment that they trusted and felt closest to their mothers simply because she is my mama. Even respondents with family members who did not accept their gender identity sometimes considered them close network members.

Discussions with family members were often described to be superficial, involving general encouragement to maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoiding explicit discussions about sexual health, HIV/STI prevention and trans-specific issues such as access to gender-affirming healthcare. Family members expressions of concern and questions about wellbeing were not always well-articulated and were instead encompassed by the general advice to take care. This level of support was generally considered basic and less practical within the context of respondentslifestyles, but was still appreciated as a demonstration of care.

She [mother] is always giving me advice, telling me to take care of myself, how am I, she is always asking, if I have eaten lunch or not 23 years old, from Pucallpa.

We just chat like this how are you girl, are you doing well? My brothers, my sisters-in-law, everyone, Take care of yourself are you doing well? 36 years old, from Pucallpa.

However, when families accepted respondents identities and openly discussed issues including HIV/STI risk, gender-affirming procedures, and/or sex work, respondents often described feeling encouraged to engage in HIV preventive behaviors and empowered in the face of discrimination. One respondent even described her mother helping her pay for gender-affirming care, while others described feeling emotionally supported through their transition.

I think she [mother] felt bad when I started to get depressed because I was feeling the bullying from people, so we talked more and she understood my suffering and my desire to be a woman physically because internally I have always been one. So then she said, Im going to support you. 38 years old, from Lima.

She [sister] always tells me whatever you decide I will always support you, I have no reason to be judging you, nor telling you things. 22 years old, from Cajamarca.

Though less common, some respondents also reported receiving encouragement from family to engage in HIV/STI prevention, with one respondent describing that her mother reminded her to take PrEP and another stating that her mother buys her condoms.

When [my mother] found out I was gayshe accepted me for who I am. [She told me] to take care, that there are [sexually transmitted] diseases, that I should always use protection. 19 years old, from Pucallpa.

More often, when respondents felt comfortable discussing HIV/STI prevention with family members, respondents were the ones initiating this conversation to educate their family about these issues.

I have explained to [my mother] the risks that Im exposed to from working in the street I tell her that there are various sexually transmitted diseases like HIV, AIDS, syphilis. 27 years old, from Piura.

Some even used their experience and knowledge to advise younger family members, such as siblings, nieces, and nephews, about HIV/STI prevention.

I told [my sister], you have to use a condom so that you dont get pregnant, another reason is there are plenty of sexually transmitted infections like HIV, the condom isnt just for pregnancy, but also for other risks that you need to protect yourself from, I told her. 23 years old, from Pucallpa.

Based on qualitative discussions, respondents appeared to hold the role of active support figures for the rest of their families. The support respondents reported receiving from their family was primarily social and emotional, while the support respondents provided to family was often much more tangible. While six respondents nominated a family member as a potential source of urgent financial assistance if needed (Fig.1B), almost no respondents reported receiving consistent financial support from their families. On the other hand, several respondents reported that they were responsible for providing consistent financial support to their families and notably, almost half of respondents reported having no sources of consistent financial support themselves.

My family is depending on me, theyre passing through a [difficult economic] situation. I send them 100, 150, 200 Soles weekly. 28 years old, from Pucallpa.

I support [my mother] economically I send her money weekly for her food costs, or for my nieces costs, for her school. 27 years old, from Piura.

Eleven respondents (55%) identified a current or former romantic/ primary partner as part of their network. Of note, no respondents included any other sexual partners among this list, though other partners were briefly mentioned in interviews. Almost all partnered respondents reported receiving emotional support from their primary partner (Fig.1A). In interviews, several respondents described partners who made them feel respected and confident, which contributed to feelings of empowerment and resistance against stigma and discrimination.

He makes me have a lot of confidence in myself. With the other partners I had, it was like they hid me, dont come to my work, wait for me on the corner. Him no, sit at my side while I work or come to my house, come to the room where I live. Things like that. 38 years old, from Lima.

Most respondents with long-term partners reported being financially supported by these partners in some way, such as helping with rent payments, though a few TW also described financial arrangements that involved shared expenses within these relationships.

Well we both support each other, my partner and I. The day that he doesnt have [money], well I go out [to work] like him, he is also working. 38 years old, from Lima.

Most partnered respondents described partners checking in on their health generally or even taking care of them when they were sick. However, with regard to HIV/STI prevention, respondents felt responsible to educate and provide that type of support to their partners.

He [partner] did know about HIV but didnt know some things that I, from experience, know a ton. About precautionsabout how to avoid contracting [HIV]. 38 years old, from Lima.

In this way, respondents were again found to be important sources of support within their other relationships. While the type of social support received in return was not always as tangible, when present and robust, it had the potential to contribute to emotional wellness and empowerment.

In SNIs, respondents reported receiving a significant amount of support at all levels from other TW. Importantly, this support was concrete, bidirectional, and shared within their community. 70% of respondents reported receiving emotional support from other TW and 75% reported receiving instrumental support from other TW (Fig.1A C). Respondents and other TW in their networks had a unique and important role in creating new social structures and channels of support within their community. Many respondents reported moving from other regions to come to Lima and feeling supported by TW in the area who welcomed and oriented them to the local community. In this way, the casas trans represented gateway points for integration into the local community of TW and were essentially a pre-existing support system and network that TW who were new to Lima could connect with.

Everyone [in my family] lives in Pucallpa All I have here are the trans girls that are also my friends. 28 years old, from Pucallpa.

Several respondents who did not have supportive family members cited this fact as another key reason for moving to Lima, where they found a more supportive environment. These new and alternative systems of support created by TW for other TW contrasted significantly with the more traditional family and romantic relationship structures respondents described. Support systems within the trans community were generated organically as a result of shared identities and experiences, and were crucial for defining social norms, sharing knowledge, and facilitating labor opportunities.

I decided to change physically [transition], so I made the decision to come [to Lima] and I contacted the girls here and at that time they were already working in this environment [sex work]. 28 years old, from Pucallpa.

I simply came [to Lima] because I had friendships here, and then I stayed. My friend encouraged me, dont go, get to work here, here well make money and I stayed to work. 19 years old, from Tarapoto.

Financial and instrumental support was described to be bidirectional in these relationships; TW helped each other out as needed.

When sometimes she [TW friend]doesnt have [money] and I do, and sometimes when I dont have [money] and she does, I invite her to eat like this and she does the same. We support each other. 19 years old, from Tarapoto.

When I need to eat, she [TW friend] supports me because she has a kitchen, she cooks or she lends it to me, and also she lends me clothes, or I also lend her things and its like this. 23 years old, from Pucallpa.

In general, respondents tended to have fewer sources of HPS, and TW represented a majority of those sources (Fig.1D). TW network members were reported to provide more active and concrete HPS in the form of knowledge sharing, facilitating access to services, and modeling HIV preventive behaviors, especially in the context of sex work, in contrast to the general encouragement respondents sometimes described receiving in relationships with family or partners. Often, older or more experienced TW educated younger or newly arrived TW, such as those that were new to the city and/or the profession of sex work. Several respondents reported that the friend that introduced them to sex work and this community of TW also taught them about prevention.

When I started working in this [sex work] a trans friend [told me] that I always have to use condoms, always in this routine that I have, I have to use them because it is sex work. 31 years old, from Trujillo.

Thus, although some respondents received HPS from family, TW were typically the source of HPS and education for their non-TW network members. In relationships with other TW, the provision of this type of support was often bidirectional as respondents described being in positions to both give and receive all types of support within their network of other TW.

A-D Social network graphs depicting alters nominated as potential sources of emotional support, instrumental support, financial support, and HIV prevention support

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Both/And: Mixed methods analysis of network composition ... - BMC Public Health

A recent study sheds light on the links between our psychological makeup and how we interact with smartphones and social media. The research, published in BMC Psychology, shows that individuals with certain attachment styles may be more prone to develop stronger emotional bonds with their smartphones, potentially leading to maladaptive usage.

In todays digital age, smartphones are more than just communication devices; they are an integral part of our daily lives. Previous research has often approached smartphone usage from an addiction perspective, but this approach has been criticized for oversimplifying the complex behaviors associated with smartphone use.

Prior studies have hinted at the psychological underpinnings of our interactions with technology, particularly focusing on Problematic Mobile Phone Use and its links to mental health issues. Recognizing the need for a deeper understanding, researchers in Italy embarked on a study to explore how adult attachment styles and interpersonal relationships might influence smartphone use.

I was interested in the topic of users relationship with their smartphone and of the psychological functions the device performs for different reasons, explained study author Emanuela S. Gritti, a licensed clinical psychologist and adjunct professor at the University of Milano Bicocca and University of Urbino Carlo Bo.

One point is the widespread presence of smartphones in everyday life in so many different areas of the world and their addictive potential. Even more importantly, I believe that understanding how individual interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency and adult attachment style) generalize to the emotional bond with the device and interact with other relevant psychological correlates (e.g., self-esteem, emotion regulation) may help understanding smartphone and social networking sites consumption.

For their study, the researchers recruited 376 participants, primarily from university courses and through a method known as snowball sampling. After excluding some participants for incomplete consent forms and response biases, the final sample comprised 341 individuals, with a balanced representation of genders and an age range from 18 to 77 years.

Participants were asked to complete a series of questionnaires, assessing various aspects of their psychological profile, including their attachment styles, interpersonal dependency, self-esteem, and emotional processing abilities. Additionally, they responded to questions specifically designed to measure their attachment to their smartphones and their intensity of social network use.

Attachment to smartphones refers to the emotional bond a person forms with their device, characterized by feelings of dependence, anxiety when separated, and viewing the smartphone as a source of comfort (e.g. Having my phone makes me feel safer). Intensity of social network use, on the other hand, involves not only the frequency of using social networks but also the degree of reliance on these platforms for social interaction and validation (e.g. Social networking has become part of my daily routine).

The researchers found that individuals with anxious attachment styles those who often feel insecure in their relationships showed a tendency to form stronger emotional bonds with their smartphones. This group was also more likely to use social media intensively, suggesting a digital extension of their interpersonal anxieties.

Interestingly, the study also found that relationship status played a role in these dynamics. Single individuals with anxious attachment styles were more prone to destructive overdependence (excessively relying on others for emotional support, decision-making, and validation), alexithymia (a difficulty in identifying and expressing emotions), and lower self-esteem. These psychological vulnerabilities were, in turn, linked to a more intense emotional bond with smartphones and greater social media usage.

On the flip side, the study noted that single individuals with higher self-esteem tended to use social media more intensely. This finding hints at the role of social media in self-expression and identity consolidation, particularly among those not in a relationship.

A take home message of the study is that there is more to smartphone use than carrying out a series of useful communication and functional activities, Gritti told PsyPost. People might differ in how they bond with their smartphone based on their interpersonal style (e.g., how they manage distance and closeness in relationships) and this will have an effect on how and with which intensity they will use it.

However, the study is not without its limitations. A notable caveat is the reliance on self-reported data, which can sometimes introduce biases based on how participants perceive or wish to present their smartphone and social media usage. Future research could benefit from incorporating more objective measures of digital behavior to corroborate these findings.

It would be valuable in future investigations to assess actual smartphone use, therefore integrating assessment based on participants self-reported descriptions, to exclude potential desirability or recall biases in participants reports of their digital behavior, Gritti said.

The study significantly adds to the literature showing that smartphone and social network use are multidetermined behaviors. For instance, our study suggests that other individual psychological and demographic variables contribute to smartphone and social network use, such as level of self- esteem and marital status.

The study, The smartphone as a significant other: interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use, was authored by Emanuela S. Gritti, Robert F. Bornstein, and Baptiste Barbot.

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Attachment styles influence the tendency to form emotional bonds ... - PsyPost