Smartphone-mediated communication vs. face-to-face interaction: Two routes to social support and problematic use of smartphone

The present study examines two possible routes lonely people can take to alleviate their loneliness: One route via escape motivation and smartphone-mediated communication vs. another route via relationship motivation and face-to-face interaction. Two hypothesized path models were tested with a total of 930 U.S. American participants who were nationally recruited through a professional survey company. Those with a high level of loneliness tend to rely more on smartphone-mediated communication, while being reluctant to engage in face-to-face interaction. Such combination of the two increases the possibility of developing problematic use of smartphone but decreases perceived social support from their social networks. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis suggested that young adults of age 31–40 would develop problematic use of smartphone more than adolescents of age 13–18. •Examined two possible routes lonely people can take to alleviate their loneliness.•Lonely people rely on smartphone while not much on face-to-face interaction.•Young adults might develop problems with smartphone more than teenagers.