Given rapid developments in mobile technology, smartphone gaming requires an in-depth exploration to ascertain factors that may contribute to problematic use.
Smartphone gaming has been one form of popular mobile entertainment engaged in on a variety of devices, accounting for more than 42% (i.e., 32% for smartphones and 10% for tablets) of the global games market (i.e., 47% Asia-pacific, 25% North America, 24% Europe, Middle-East and Africa, and 4% Latin-America Newzoo, 2017). Over the past two decades, the use of mobile technologies has evolved to comprise a set of behaviors that have become ubiquitous in people’s daily lives, especially for youth ( Hoffner, Lee, & Park, 2016 Okazaki, Skapa, & Grande, 2008). Interacting with mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets) has now become strongly embedded in contemporary societies across the world as many different types of activity can now be engaged in (e.g., gaming, gambling, and social networking).
