Psychology & well-being
Smartphone addiction scale: what it is and how to measure it
- Concept
- Smartphone addiction
- Field
- Psychology & well-being
- Scales in the library
- 1
- Items
- 10
Smartphone addiction is excessive phone use that disrupts daily life, causes distress without the phone and makes it hard to control usage time. Kwon, Kim, Cho and Yang (2013) drew 10 items from the 33-item SAS to create a short form that is easy to use in surveys. In Vietnam, the SAS-SV is often used in student studies, linked to sleep, stress, academic results and FoMO.
Comparing the scales
| Scale | Author (year) | Items | Response format | When to use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smartphone Addiction (SAS) Smartphone addiction (SAS-SV) | Kwon, Kim, Cho & Yang (2013) | 10 | Likert 6-point | Choose for measuring smartphone addiction in general; 10 items, 6-point Likert, no reverse-coded items, summed score 10-60. |
Items of each scale
Original English wording from the published source. Replace placeholders such as [system] or
[brand] with what your study is about, and pilot the questionnaire with 20 to 30 respondents first.
Smartphone Addiction (SAS) · Smartphone addiction (SAS-SV)
| Code | Item |
|---|---|
| SA1 | Missing planned work due to smartphone use |
| SA2 | Having a hard time concentrating in class, while doing assignments, or while working due to smartphone use |
| SA3 | Feeling pain in the wrists or at the back of the neck while using a smartphone |
| SA4 | Won't be able to stand not having a smartphone |
| SA5 | Feeling impatient and fretful when I am not holding my smartphone |
| SA6 | Having my smartphone in my mind even when I am not using it |
| SA7 | I will never give up using my smartphone even when my daily life is already greatly affected by it. |
| SA8 | Constantly checking my smartphone so as not to miss conversations between other people on Twitter or Facebook |
| SA9 | Using my smartphone longer than I had intended |
| SA10 | The people around me tell me that I use my smartphone too much. |
Source: Kwon, Kim, Cho & Yang (2013). Response scale, licence and APA reference: Smartphone addiction (SAS-SV).
Tips
- Keep the 6-point Likert as in the original if you want to compare with the cutoffs of Kwon et al. (2013); if you change to 5 points, those cutoffs no longer apply.
- The cutoffs of 31 (male) and 33 (female) were set on Korean high school students; for Vietnamese university students, treat them only as a reference point.
- Items mentioning Twitter and Facebook can be extended with Zalo, TikTok and Messenger, but state clearly that you adapted them from the original.
- This scale is not a diagnostic tool. Studies on mental health must follow your university's research ethics rules (with a participant consent form) and list a psychological support contact at the end of the questionnaire.
Once you have a scale, put the concept in the research model drawer to state your hypotheses, work out the minimum sample size, and after data collection check reliability with the Cronbach's alpha calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How many items does the SAS-SV have and how is it scored?
The SAS-SV has 10 items answered on a 6-point Likert scale. Summing the 10 items gives 10-60; a higher score means a higher level of addiction. There are no reverse-coded items.
Can the SAS-SV be used for university students?
The original was validated on high school students, but the scale is widely used for university students. Run EFA, CFA and Cronbach's alpha on your own sample, and pay attention to the items on wrist and back-of-neck pain, since these are physical symptoms.
Can the original SAS-SV paper be copied freely?
The paper by Kwon et al. (2013) was published in PLoS ONE under a Creative Commons Attribution license, which allows use and copying if the authors and source are properly credited.