Smartphone Addiction and Phubbing in International Students in Turkey: The Moderating Role of Mindfulness

Abstract

With the advent of smartphone technologies, connections to other people, information, and services have transcended everyday norms. However, together with the evolving technologies, unprecedented changes in the behaviors of individuals are emerging. Among these changes is phubbing, the practice of ignoring those in the immediate surroundings during real conversations in favor of smartphones. In light of this, the aim of the present study was to determine if there is a relationship between smartphone addiction and phubbing in international students and if mindfulness is a moderator of this relationship. A cross-sectional survey with snowball sampling was adopted, and a total of 294 international students volunteered to complete self-report measures. In this study, while there was a significant positive relationship between smartphone addiction and phubbing, no such significant association was determined for mindfulness in its relationship with smartphone addiction and phubbing. The moderation analysis revealed that mindfulness significantly moderated the relationship between smartphone addiction and phubbing; however, high mindfulness did not serve as a protective factor against the effects of smartphone addiction on phubbing.