Smartphone and Social Media Use Is Correlated with Lower Relationship Quality, New National Survey Shows

The third annual American Family Survey, a nationwide Deseret News/Brigham Young University study conducted by YouGov, provides new insights into smartphone and cellphone usage. Poll takers were asked about the different ways they use their phones — for example, how often they used phones to communicate via social media, to catch up with family and friends and to avoid others in their physical vicinity. In every case, people who report using their phone multiple times a day are more likely to report relationship trouble than people who use their phones less frequently, especially those who use phones rarely.

"Like the rest of the world, Americans clearly love their technology, but our research shows that they may have a disconnect when it comes to their phone use and their relationships," said Allison Pond, editor of the Deseret News In-depth team and a former Pew Research Center staffer. "It's impossible to say whether high levels of phone use have a negative impact on relationships or whether people turn to technology as an escape from unhappy relationships — or both — but the connection certainly warrants more investigation."

The survey also asked parents how they approach phone use for their children and found that prior to age 12, few children have access to smart phones or cell phones, with only about a quarter of parents allowing phones for children between ages 5 and 11. But four out of five parents with children who are 12 or older allow those children to have mobile phones — the majority of which are smartphones. Most parents of kids in the over-12 age group also say they do not restrict phone usage, with the most common restriction — prohibiting phone use during family meals — imposed by about 40 percent of parents.

The American Family Survey also uncovered other attitudes on marriage, relationships and family, and how those experiences relate to people's opinions on a wide variety of political and social issues, including addiction, immigration, health and government programs. More results are at deseretnews.com/american-family-survey, along with a full report for download.

The poll was designed by Christopher Karpowitz and Jeremy Pope of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University; Doug Wilks, Editor of the Deseret News; Allison Pond, Editor of the Deseret News In-depth team and a former Pew Research Center staffer; and Sam Sturgeon, President of Demographic Intelligence. They consulted an advisory board which included Karlyn Bowman, Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; Sara McLanahan, Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs at Princeton; Richard Reeves, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution and former strategy advisor to the deputy prime minister of the United Kingdom; and W. Brad Wilcox, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia and Director of the National Marriage Project.

METHODOLOGY

Between August 1 and August 7, 2017, YouGov interviewed 3,264 respondents who were then matched down to a sample of 3,000 to produce the final dataset. The respondents were matched to a sampling frame on gender, age, race, education, party identification, ideology, and political interest. The frame was constructed by stratified sampling from the full 2010 American Community Survey (ACS) sample with selection within strata by weighted sampling with replacements (using the person weights on the public use file). Data on voter registration status and turnout were matched to this frame using the November 2010 Current Population Survey. Data on interest in politics and party identification were then matched to this frame from the 2007 Pew Religious Life Survey. The matched cases were weighted to the sampling frame using propensity scores. The matched cases and the frame were combined and a logistic regression was estimated for inclusion in the frame. The propensity score function included age, gender, race/ethnicity, years of education, and ideology. The propensity scores were grouped into deciles of the estimated propensity score in the frame and post-stratified according to these deciles.

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ABOUT THE CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF ELECTIONS AND DEMOCRACY (CSED) AT BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY (BYU)

The Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy (CSED) at Brigham Young University is a nonpartisan academic research center seeking to increase knowledge about the practice of American democracy. CSED is committed to the production and dissemination of research that meets high academic standards, is useful to policy makers, and informs citizens. CSED-sponsored research has been published by leading academic journals and presses in the areas of campaign finance, voting technology and election reform, presidential and congressional elections, religion and politics and democratic deliberation.

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