ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
Associations of smartphone use duration and loneliness with depressive symptoms among Korean adolescents: a nationally representative cross-sectional study.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: Adolescent depression is a major public health concern, yet the relative contributions of smartphone use duration and perceived loneliness remain unclear. This study examined their independent and comparative associations with depressive symptoms in a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents. Methods: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from 54,653 middle and high school students from the 2024 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Depressive symptoms were assessed using a single self-reported item. Weekday and weekend smartphone use (h/day) were modeled as continuous variables. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted adjusting for sociodemographic factors, health behaviors, perceived stress, and anxiety symptoms. Nagelkerke pseudo- Results: Weekday smartphone use showed a small positive association with depressive symptoms (OR = 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03). In contrast, perceived loneliness demonstrated a strong graded association: moderate loneliness (OR = 2.54, 95% CI 2.40-2.68) and high loneliness (OR = 4.74, 95% CI 4.43-5.07) were associated with substantially higher odds of depressive symptoms. The inclusion of loneliness increased the model's explanatory power (ΔNagelkerke Conclusions: Perceived loneliness showed a substantially stronger association with depressive symptoms than smartphone use duration. These findings highlight the importance of addressing social isolation in adolescent mental health interventions, alongside promoting balanced and context-sensitive smartphone use.
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