Although the main use of the smartphone was reported to be as
a ‘‘phone’’ (53.2%), the focus was placed on the smartphone
characteristics of advanced computing ability and Internet
connectivity, which make the smartphone more than a ‘‘phone’’
but a smart multi-medium. When the scale was being developed, it
was focused on Internet use rather than on mobile-phone use, and
on the analysis of the addiction concepts such as craving,
tolerance, and withdrawal in the process of the concept analysis
of smartphone addiction. Recently, in relation to the popular issue
of smartphone addiction especially in South Korea, it has been
investigated that the multi-functions of the smartphone, particularly
Internet-based gaming and SNS problems, are becoming
increasingly serious. Especially, the smartphone has the advantages
of portability, real-time Internet searching, and convenient
and interactive communication via SNS, in which differences from
Internet addiction can be found.