One More, One More... You Get Stuck – The Role of Craving in Smartphone-Related Technostress

Abstract

Smartphones have been integrated into nearly every aspect of human life. Because of them, being entertained, communicating with others, and finding information has never been easier. Even though such possibilities are positive on the surface, the versatile nature of smartphones has also created issues, such as people using them compulsively or excessively. By collecting and analyzing data from 30 semi-structured interviews, we explored how users may experience craving (unstoppable/uncontrollable desire to use, despite the negative consequences) that make them use smartphones compulsively or excessively. Such use may eventually lead to technostress, which is stress caused by technology use. We present three levels of craving (stimuli, sensation, and content) and discuss how they affect smartphone use and technostress. We contribute to research by discussing craving in the context of technostress. As a practical implication, different stakeholders could use our results to address the issues relating to stress caused by smartphone use