Cohort Differences in Mobile Phone Dependency: Mediation of Peer Play and Gender Moderation

초록

Purpose: This study aims to comparatively analyze the cohort differences in the mediating effect of peer playand the moderating effect of genderon the relationship between mobile phone use and dependency among 4th-grade elementary school students. Research design, data, and methodology: Data from 1,593 participants of the 1st cohort and 2,399 participants of the 2nd cohort of the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey (KCYPS) were utilized. The moderated mediation effect was examined using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Model 58). Results: Results showed that in 2010, mobile phone use frequency had a positive correlationwith peer play, whereas in 2018, mobile use frequency showed a negative correlationwith peer play. Furthermore, in the 2018 cohort, weekday peer play had a significant indirect effectas a protective factorin lowering smartphone dependency for male students, but no significant effect was observed for female students. In the case of weekend peer play, a significant indirect effect was found for both male and female students in 2010, but this effect disappeared in 2018, showing a distinct cohort difference. Conclusions: These findings indicate that even for children at the same developmental stage, the patterns of peer interaction and the pathways to smartphone dependency differ according to changes in the digital media environment. In particular, the reduction in time for peer play and physical activity due to smartphone use can negatively impact children's health, suggesting the need for an active role for school physical education and for customized physical activity programs that consider gender-specific characteristics.

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