Bibliographic Entry
Pera, Aurel. “The Psychology of Addictive Smartphone Behavior in Young Adults:
Problematic Use, Social Anxiety, and Depressive Stress.” Frontiers in Psychiatry , vol. 11,
Frontiers Research Foundation, Sept. 2020, doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2020.573473.

Tip Sheet on Author and Source
Aurel Pera works in the department of teacher training at the University of Craiova in
Romania. Pera has 7 publications and specializes in Educational Psychology.

Terminology/Key Words
Problematic smartphone use (PSU)
Psychopathy
Dysregulation
Interconnection
Egocentric

Summary
Pera came to the conclusion for his work by reviewing pieces of work released between the
years 2017 and 2020. Pera discovered that only 267 articles were sufficient for review. This
paper focuses on the negative aspects of social media and the addiction that some may
have to their devices and the dependency that is created.

Reflection
While I read through the article, several of the points that were explained stood out to me,
especially about the link between depression and PSU that often come together. I agree
with the points that those who are struggling with PSU tend to have lower self-esteem and
are at a disadvantage mentally with all that social media is able to effect. Another point that
also I can agree with is the point about social anxiety as a result of PSU. Social anxiety is
definitely something that I have also dealt with and Is a common theme when I think about
when I actually hang out with some people. People can act differently online and once they
meet in person, it can be different to be the same person due to how we can be perceived
through social media.

Quotables
“ Perceived stress is positively associated with adolescent
smartphone overuse. Self-regulation mediates the association
between perceived stress and smartphone addiction.”

“For teenagers having an inferior degree of depression, the link
between sensation seeking and PSU is positively relevant, while for
teenagers having a significant degree of depression, the connection
between sensation seeking and PSU is not relevant ( 4 ).”

“Difficulties appear when users are addicted to their smartphone,
spending an excessive quantity of time using it. Dysfunctional
symptoms of PSU mirror substance use disorder criteria (9–11).”

(wasn’t sure where to find the Page Numbers on my source because
it was not a PDF)