Belonging and Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents: The Role of Meaningful Living

In the digital age, smartphone addiction is a widespread problem among adolescents. However, belonging, a vital need during adolescence, may be indirectly associated with smartphone addiction via meaningful living. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the mediating role of meaningful living between family, peer, and school belonging and smartphone addiction based on self-determination theory and belonging hypothesis under the umbrella of ecological systems theory. A sample of 532 adolescents aged 13-18 years was recruited from three schools in Turkey. Structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the mediation model. The model fit values of the structural model, which includes five latent variables (family, peer, and school belonging, meaningful living, and smartphone addiction) were found to be within the acceptable range. The findings of the present study indicated that meaningful living mediated the relationship between family, peer, and school belonging and smartphone addiction. The current study found that family, school, and peer belonging were positively associated with meaningful living, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of smartphone addiction. The findings imply that strengthening family, peer, and school belonging may support meaningful living and may be linked to lower smartphone addiction.