Women more addicted to smartphones than men: study

Seoul: Women are more addicted to smartphones than men, according to a new report which found that females spend four hours a day or longer using the device.

The report by Professor Chang Jae-yeon of Ajou University is based on a 2013 survey of 1,236 students from six colleges in South Korea. It was the first study to find that women are more prone to smartphone addiction than men.

The survey found that 52 per cent of the women used their smartphones for four hours a day or longer, compared to 29.4 per cent of men.

Nearly 23 per cent of women used their smartphones for six hours a day, while the figure was almost 11 per cent among men.

Women use smartphones mainly to access social networking websites, including Facebook and Instagram, using these services far more than just making calls, games and searches combined, 'The Korea Times' reported.

More than 37 per cent of women look at their phone screens while talking with others and on the move, while men use their smartphones only during break time, researchers found.

One in five women (20.1 per cent) have insecure feelings when they cannot use their smartphone, compared to 8.9 per cent of men, according to the survey.

This means that women's dependency is 10 per cent higher than men's, contrasting the widely-accepted opinion that men are more vulnerable to addictions of such substances and activities as alcohol, computer games and gambling.

The findings were published in the journal Public Health Reports.