Smartphones have become necessities in people’ lives. Along with its obvious benefits, however, the
smartphone has other effects that are not all that glorious. This study investigates the dark side of the
smartphone trend. We examine the link between psychological traits and the compulsive behaviors of
smartphone users, and look further into the stress caused by those compulsive behaviors. We conducted
an empirical study consisting of 325 participants and compared Structural Equation Modeling with competing
models. The results suggest that compulsive usage of smartphone and technostress are positively
related to psychological traits including locus of control, social interaction anxiety, materialism and the
need for touch. Gender differences are also found in the aforementioned relationships. The results have
practical implications to user-oriented smartphone design and operation companies as well as government
agencies as they combat the social ills brought on by smartphones