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Findings show smartphones intertwine with the self by externalizing identity, enabling constant connectivity, mediating intimacy, authenticating experiences, and limiting agency. Results raise concerns about perceived user control versus evidence of compulsive, nonautonomous behavior.",{"@graph":14,"@context":67},[15,34,50],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/","Template",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/general/","General",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/my-smartphone-is-an-extension-of-myself-a-holistic-qualitative-exploration-of-the-impact-of-using-a-smartphone/164569/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"author":36,"headline":10,"publisher":39,"fileFormat":42,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":43,"datePublished":44,"encodingFormat":42,"isAccessibleForFree":45,"interactionStatistic":46},"DigitalDocument",{"name":37,"@type":38},"Aurelia","Person",{"url":19,"name":40,"@type":41},"DocShare","Organization","application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document","2026-09-11","2026-08-31",true,{"@type":47,"interactionType":48,"userInteractionCount":22},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":49},"ViewAction",{"@type":51,"mainEntity":52},"FAQPage",[53,59,63],{"name":54,"@type":55,"acceptedAnswer":56},"What is the purpose of the study on smartphone use?","Question",{"text":57,"@type":58},"To explore users’ in-depth experiences of smartphone use from a holistic perspective and understand how users perceive and experience smartphones.","Answer",{"name":60,"@type":55,"acceptedAnswer":61},"How did the researchers analyze the data?",{"text":62,"@type":58},"The study used a qualitative focus group (n=21) and analyzed responses using constructivist grounded theory.",{"name":64,"@type":55,"acceptedAnswer":65},"What key ways do smartphones function in users’ lives, according to the findings?",{"text":66,"@type":58},"Smartphones are described as an extension of the self—externalizing identity, providing constant connectivity, mediating intimacy, authenticating experiences, and forfeiting agency.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":69,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":40,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":71,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":73,"site_id":7},164569,1788156178,{"code":4,"msg":76,"data":77},"success",[78,83,88,93,98,103,108,113,118],{"id":79,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":80,"show_sort_weight":81,"slug":82},11,"Presentations",90,"presentations",{"id":84,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},12,"Resumes",80,"resumes",{"id":89,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":90,"show_sort_weight":91,"slug":92},14,"Invoices",70,"invoices",{"id":94,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":95,"show_sort_weight":96,"slug":97},15,"Posters",60,"posters",{"id":99,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":100,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},16,"Social Media",50,"social-media",{"id":104,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},17,"Forms",40,"forms",{"id":109,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},18,"Letters",30,"letters",{"id":114,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":115,"show_sort_weight":116,"slug":117},21,"Paper Templates",5,"papers-templates",{"id":119,"doc_module":22,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":4,"slug":120},158,"general-158",{"code":4,"msg":76,"data":122},{"doc_id":73,"user_id":123,"nickname":37,"user_avatar":124,"doc_module":22,"category_id":119,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":125,"file_id":126,"file_url":127,"file_type":128,"file_size":129,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":130,"language":131,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":132,"faqs":133,"seo_title":134,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":74,"read_time":135},1099514068365,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/10000253d8d9f28188e?_k=1776742907772140068","“My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself”: \u000bA Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone\nLydia J. Harkin and Daria Kuss\nDepartment of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University\nAuthor Note\n\u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0511-5934\" \\h \u0014Lydia J. Harkin\u0015\n\u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0511-5934\" \u0014https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0511-5934\u0015\n\u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X\" \\h \u0014Daria Kuss\u0015\n\u0013 HYPERLINK \"https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X\" \u0014https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8917-782X\u0015\nWe have no conflicts of interest to disclose. We thank Katrin Svelko and Suzie Whalley for their contribution to transcribing and analyzing the research data. We would also like to thank Nottingham Trent University, the British Academy, and the Leverhulme Trust for funding this research.\nCorrespondence concerning this article should be addressed to Lydia J. Harkin, Department of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Chaucer Building, Burton Street, Nottingham NG1 4FQ, United Kingdom. Email: \u0013 HYPERLINK \"mailto:Lydia.harkin02@institution.edu\" \u0014Lydia.harkin02@institution.edu\u0015\n\u000fAbstract\nA total of 6 billion people worldwide will use smartphones in 2020 (Jonsson et al., 2017). The devices pose convenient solutions for leisure and work-related activities (Kuss, 2017). However, psychometric and addiction-based guidelines increasingly align smartphone overuse with technological addictions (Billieux et al., 2015). A more holistic exploration of smartphone use might help to highlight how everyday use interacts with or underpins more addictive forms of behaviors. This study aimed to explore in-depth experiences of smartphone use to understand from a holistic perspective what the perceptions and experiences of the devices are to smartphone users using a qualitative focus group study (n = 21; 11 women). Data were analyzed using the constructivist grounded theory. Results indicated that smartphones were entwined with users’ lives, as they formed an extension of the self. Subcategories highlighted that the devices hold value by externalizing identity, providing constant connectivity, mediating intimacy, authenticating experiences, and forfeiting agency. In conclusion, the usability of the smartphone may create an interactive relationship with the sense of self. Close relationships with smartphones appear to shape interpersonal relationships. In addition, participants held an expectation that the user has agency over their actions, which is at odds with evidence of nonautonomous, compulsive behaviors. Regarding the study’s public significance, this false perception of control may pose challenges for interventions that aim to reduce problematic smartphone use. Further research should contrast user perceptions using real-time smartphone data to understand the degree of true insight users have over their own behaviors.\nKeywords: interpersonal communication, social media, smartphone, social identity, qualitative\n\u000f\n“My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself”: \u000bA Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone\nIntroduction\nIn 2020, around 6.1 billion people will be smartphone users (Jonsson et al., 2017). In North America, Great Britain, and Canada, 77%, 70%, and 66% of the adult population use smartphones, respectively (Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission, 2016; Office for National Statistics, 2017a; Pew Research Center, 2017). Technology advances have prompted an explosive growth in the functionality of mobile phones. By 2016, smartphones and tablets had become the primary technology used to access the internet (StatCounter Global Stats, 2016). Smartphone users have become regular online consumers of news, media, shopping, and social networking through their devices (Office for National Statistics, 2017b). British Telecommunications regulators have called the United Kingdom a “smartphone society” (Ofcom, 2017). Thus, there is increasing evidence that smartphones may have a ","cbCaivlPEevZekG5","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaivlPEevZekG5","docx",88263,24,"English","# Abstract\n# Introduction","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of the study on smartphone use?\",\"answer\":\"To explore users’ in-depth experiences of smartphone use from a holistic perspective and understand how users perceive and experience smartphones.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the researchers analyze the data?\",\"answer\":\"The study used a qualitative focus group (n=21) and analyzed responses using constructivist grounded theory.\"},{\"question\":\"What key ways do smartphones function in users’ lives, according to the findings?\",\"answer\":\"Smartphones are described as an extension of the self—externalizing identity, providing constant connectivity, mediating intimacy, authenticating experiences, and forfeiting agency.\"}]","My Smartphone Is an Extension of Myself - A Holistic Qualitative Exploration of the Impact of Using a Smartphone | DOCX",8]