In both countries, we find six user profiles: two without a prevalent use, characterised primarily by their intensity of use (moderate, hyperconnected), and four in which we do find a prevalent use (organised, social, impulsive, escapist).

The study on which this article is based reveals little difference between the two countries in the moderate, organised, and social smartphone user profiles. However, in Spain the impulsive, escapist, and hyperconnected profiles stand out more than in Portugal. Likewise in Spain, users with an impulsive profile resort more to gambling and pornography, while escapists are more prone to escapism, entertainment, and seeking affection and information about other people.

As regards intensity in the different uses, moderate users (43% in Portugal and 42% in Spain) resort to their smartphone less than the national average (represented in the graph by the inner circle, corresponding to the value 1). In contrast, hyperconnected users (19% in Spain and 18% in Portugal) show a relatively higher use than their peers in all areas. Among organised users, organisation, health, study and information seeking are predominant (10% in both countries). Social users (10% in Spain, 8% in Portugal) focus on communication and looking at what other people are doing (prying). Gambling and pornography are more characteristic of impulsive profiles (10% in both countries), and escapism and entertainment are characteristic of escapists (10% in Portugal and 9% in Spain).

In Portugal and Spain alike, certain profiles imply less control over problematic smartphone use. Poor self-control over smartphone use involves experiences such as plans falling through because of the phone, having trouble concentrating in class or at work, feeling anxiety when the phone is not there, constantly checking the device so as not to miss out on conversations, or other people complaining that we use the phone too much.

Young people who use their smartphone little or mainly for organisational tasks show greater capacity for control. Escapist and hyperconnected users, on the other hand, have trouble exerting self-control over smartphone use.

Associations between capacity for self-control and smartphone use profile are similar in Portugal and Spain. However, a rare exception stands out: in Spain, impulsive users claim that they control their smartphone use more (+5%) than the national average, a phenomenon that is not observed in Portugal (-3%).

In both countries, the young people who have the healthiest relationship with their smartphone are those who use it less than their peers for most activities (moderate users) and those who resort to it to organise their tasks, study or monitor their health (organised users). Social users, in contrast, have less self-control than average, in both countries. Escapist and hyperconnected users display strong smartphone dependency to a much larger extent, in both countries.

Young people aged 20 to 24 show similar levels of relational satisfaction in Portugal and Spain. It should be noted, first, that satisfaction with friends is, on average and for both countries, slightly higher than with the family; and second, that satisfaction with both family and friends is usually higher in Portugal.

In general, the social profile contains most young people who are satisfied with their relationships. The largest differences between countries are found in the escapist profile: in Portugal, 4% more of these young people are satisfied with their family than in Spain, and this difference rises to 7% in the case of their relationships with friends.

The study also shows that young people with a social profile are those most likely to be satisfied in both countries. However, the behaviour of escapists is more varied: in both countries, they have lower rates of satisfaction with the family than other profiles, whereas in their relationships with friends they show greater satisfaction than the organised profile in Spain, and than all except the social profile in Portugal.

Unlike what is found for relational satisfaction (slightly higher in the case of Portugal), satisfaction with work or study and leisure is greater among Spanish young people. On the whole, it is also notable that, in Portugal and Spain alike, satisfaction with leisure time is lower than it is with work or study. Nevertheless, the differences between countries are larger than those observed for relational satisfaction.

The hyperconnected and moderate profiles yield very similar results between countries, although hyperconnected users have more job and leisure satisfaction than moderate ones. However, in other profiles the differences are greater. Between countries, the largest difference is found when comparing the job satisfaction of impulsive users (Spain, 89%; Portugal, 77%) and the leisure satisfaction of escapist users (Spain, 71%; Portugal, 55%).

The survey data indicates that job and leisure satisfaction vary depending on the country and the use profile, and that it is advisable to study each type of user case by case. For example, regarding work, it is notable that in Spain organised users (who use their smartphone more to plan tasks, their calendar, etc.) display the same level of satisfaction as impulsive users (who use it more emotionally), and less satisfaction than social users (who more often seek to connect). In Portugal, hyperconnected users are those who have most job satisfaction, above other profiles.

Differences in well-being between countries are small, except in the case of organised users, who show greater well-being in Spain, and social users in Portugal. However, differences in distress are larger.

In Portugal there is a difference of 48 percentage points between those who display least distress (social users, -17%) and those who show most distress (hyperconnected users, 31%). In Spain, the difference in distress between these two groups is 38 points (social users, -12%; hyperconnected users, 26%).

Distress is often associated with more intense smartphone use; to some extent, the data of the study seem to support this view, as moderate users have less distress than hyperconnected ones – the rest of the groups mostly lie between these extremes. However, it is important to note that feeling no distress is not the same as enjoying well-being. For well-being, what matters is the reason for using one’s smartphone, rather than the intensity: organised and social users enjoy greater well-being than those with other profiles, and escapists show less well-being than hyperconnected users.

This article has documented minor differences between smartphone use profiles in Portugal and Spain, and slightly larger differences in the association between those profiles and young people’s level of satisfaction in various aspects of their life. Taken on the whole, young people in Portugal are slightly more satisfied with their personal relationships (family and friends) than their Spanish counterparts, and young people in Spain are slightly more satisfied with their job or studies and with their leisure than they are in Portugal.

Furthermore, again on the whole, Portuguese young people enjoy slightly higher levels of well-being, and experience slightly lower levels of distress. Despite these findings, it would appear to be rash to talk of a “country effect” in smartphone use, since many of these differences between countries are qualified (and in some cases reversed) when one observes the reasons for using the smartphone and compares young people of different profiles. In other words, independently of the country in which they live, certain smartphone uses (hyperconnectivity, escapism) seem to be associated with less satisfaction and more distress.

Therefore, without ignoring minor cultural differences, it can be concluded that, in Portugal and Spain alike, young people’s satisfaction and well-being are marked primarily by their reasons for using their smartphone, rather than by their country of origin.

It should be borne in mind that the study on which this article is based is a cross-sectional survey: it takes a snapshot and does not examine changes in the behaviour of the respondents over time. Consequently, it is not possible to establish causality between the smartphone user profiles and the variables studied. It would be hasty to conclude, on the basis of the elements set forth in this article, that certain smartphone uses cause greater satisfaction, or higher levels of distress or well-being. In fact, it cannot be ruled out that it is precisely the other way round: that distress and dissatisfaction might cause a certain type of smartphone use, or that the well-being enjoyed by some young people could be the reason why they make more moderate or purposeful use of their smartphone.

In order to explore causal issues, the project on which this article focuses will obtain four waves of information in Spain and two in Portugal; this will make it possible to follow up the respondents over time and observe changes both in their smartphone use and in their well-being.

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