Daily Bidirectional Associations Between Problematic Smartphone Use and Meaning in Life: A 14-Day Diary Study

Previous studies have documented a negative association between meaning in life and problematic smartphone use, but whether this relationship is bidirectional at the daily within-person level remains unclear. This study examined their day-to-day bidirectional associations among college students.

A 14-day daily diary study was conducted with 232 college students from a university in northeastern China. Each evening, participants reported their experiences of meaning in life and problematic smartphone use during that day. Bayesian dynamic structural equation modeling was used to distinguish within-person fluctuations from stable between-person differences and to estimate autoregressive and reciprocal cross-lagged associations.

After accounting for their prior-day levels, lower-than-usual meaning in life predicted higher-than-usual problematic smartphone use on the following day. Conversely, higher-than-usual problematic smartphone use predicted lower-than-usual meaning in life on the following day.

Meaning in life and problematic smartphone use demonstrated reciprocal day-to-day temporal associations within individuals. These findings extend previous research by showing that their relationship is not only observed at the between-person and long-term levels but also unfolds at the short-term within-person level. Future studies should investigate whether these daily associations can be modified through targeted interventions.