Too good to be cautious: High implicit self-esteem predicts self-reported dangerous mobile phone use

Abstract Mobile phone use and misuse have become a pressing challenge in today’s society. Dangerous mobile phone use, such as the use of a mobile phone while driving, is widely practiced, though banned in several jurisdictions. Research aiming at unfolding the psychological predictors of dangerous mobile phone use have so far been scarce. Especially, researchers have never taken the role of self-esteem into account, which is unfortunate given prior research linking self-esteem to addictive mobile phone use. In the present study, we evaluated the associations between both explicit and implicit self-esteem and dangerous mobile phone use, with a particular focus on phoning while driving. To do so, we assessed implicit self-esteem among 95 participants (89 females) via the Implicit Association Test and explicit self-esteem via a self-reported measure. Problematic mobile phone use and demographic data were assessed with self-reported measures. Implicit self-esteem predicted dangerous mobile phone use, even after we controlled for demographic data and mobile phone dependence. Explicit self-esteem, however, was related to neither dependence nor dangerous use of the mobile phone, thereby supporting the importance of distinguishing between explicit and implicit self-esteem. Our results set the scene for new research avenues regarding mobile phone use while driving.