Problematic Smartphone Use and Procrastination in the Academic Setting: A Meta-Analysis

Problematic smartphone use has become a global problem with broad implications for education. The present meta-analysis studies the relationship between problematic smartphone use and procrastination in students. A literature search was conducted in Web of Science, PsycInfo and Scopus databases, obtaining a total of 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria, with a total sample of 8,679 participants. The results confirmed a positive relationship of moderate intensity between problematic smartphone use and procrastination in students (Zr = 0.40). The possible moderating effects of participants' gender, age and educational level were analyzed. There is a need to implement programs to prevent problematic smartphone use in students and to continue investigating the relationship between the two variables, especially through longitudinal studies.