Technostress from Smartphone Use and Its Impact on University Students’ Sleep Quality and Academic Performance

Abstract

Smartphone has been widely used by the younger generation. However, research exploring the technostress triggered by smartphone use lacks. Based upon the stressor-strain-outcome model, this study examined how smartphone use, especially compulsive use, life invasion, and information overload, cause university students’ technostress and, furthermore, how technostress impact their sleep quality and academic performance. Data were collected from 540 undergraduates studying at a Chinese public university and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that compulsive smartphone use and information overload are both positively associated with technostress, which in turn have a positive effect on poor sleep quality and academic self-perception. Furthermore, compulsive smartphone use indirectly predicts sleep and academic problems through the mediating effect of technostress. The findings contribute to extend the existing technostress literature and provide valuable practical implications for smartphone-related designers, university teachers, and students.