Adverse Health Consequences of Excessive Smartphone Usage

The use of smartphones has been increasing rapidly in recent years. In many countries, smartphone use is greater than 50%, while in some East Asian countries including South Korea, China, and Malaysia, the rate is higher than 70%. Smartphones have substituted MP3 music players, video players, and handheld game consoles, as they allow easy access to all these functions together, at any time and place providing the ease of use and convenience. They also allow instant photo- and video- taking and sharing through the internet.

Following their growing dominance in our lives, there are numerous research investigations about the impact of smartphone usage on health outcomes. Some studies showed that smartphone use improved social bonding and strengthened social capital. On the other hand, there are other adverse health consequences of their excessive usage, including lower peak oxygen consumption, sedentary lifestyles, upper limb muscle discomfort, body pain, depression and stress, poor sleeping habits, and increased waking-time tiredness.

Overall, the use of smartphones is ubiquitous, addictive, and transformative. It is known that a smartphone is a double-edged sword; it brings to users both favourable and unfavourable outcomes. A lot of policymakers are aware of this fact and have started to implement policies and organize campaigns to promote responsible smartphone use.

In this Research Topic, we would like to collect new, emerging evidence of the health consequences of excessive smartphone usage, hoping that this evidence can contribute to the development of safe and healthy habits for smartphone use. There are no restrictions on study design and population, however, we are only looking for original studies.