Motives for Smartphone Use as Predictors of Absent Presence Situations among University Students in Pakistan

Abstract

The current study contributes to the notions of absent presence and mere presence hypothesis and a theoretical framework is proposed. The objectives are to explore the effects of the independent variables of political, business, educational, religious, communication, companionship, social interaction, passing time, escapist, relaxation, and entertainment motives for smartphone usage on the dependent variable of perceived absent presence situations among youth.. By using quota sampling technique university students are selected from the four provinces of Pakistan (N=756) and data is collected through online survey. The independent variables explain the variance of 45.5 percent in the dependent variable of absent presence situations which is quite respectable. The companionship and passing time motives make unique contributions to absence presence situations. The students should check their time for smartphone use and pay attention to their studies which is their prime objective. It is also suggested to replicate the model in different cultural settings.