Abstract Book of the 6th World Conference on Media and Communication
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Exploring the Digital Habits of Generation Z Through Patterns of Smartphone Use: Poland, China and Philippines comparison
Mateusz Pasek, Yan Miao
ABSTRACT:
Smartphones have become constant companions in our everyday life. We scroll while cooking, walking, talking on the phone, or watching TV series. Smartphones’ pervasive presence is capturing our attention during routine activities related to hygiene, eating, working and entertainment, shaping our contemporary digital habits. Among these practices, the phenomenon of mindless scrolling has emerged as a particularly notable pattern of smartphone use. The proposed session presents findings from our study initiated in 2024 that investigated mindless scrolling behaviors among generation Z representatives in Poland (N=367), China (N= 363) and Philippines (N=67). With the help of online and paper questionnaires, we examined the intensity of smartphone multitasking during daily activities – including brushing teeth, cooking, driving, and working – revealing a rhythm of life increasingly dictated by the stimuli and information delivered through digital screens. The study highlights how these interruptions contribute to persistent distraction and growing dissatisfaction with work, relationships, and learning processes, thereby constituting a crucial societal challenge in the digital era.
Keywords: Media multitasking, mobile media; phone usage; scrolling; smartphone addiction