Phone Addiction Test (SAS)

The rapid rise of mobile technology has transformed how we communicate, work, and entertain ourselves. However, as smartphones became more immersive, researchers began to notice that some users developed compulsive patterns of behavior that mirrored traditional behavioral addictions. To help researchers and clinicians understand this growing phenomenon, Min Jeong Kwon and a team of medical researchers developed the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) in 2013. Their goal was to create a reliable, self-report instrument that could capture the specific ways excessive phone use impacts a person's psychological well-being and daily functioning.

This test profiles your smartphone habits across six distinct facets identified in the original research. Life Disruption measures how much your phone use interferes with your daily responsibilities, leading to missed work, poor concentration, or physical symptoms like eye strain. Anticipation captures the positive feelings of comfort, excitement, and confidence you experience when using your device. Withdrawal reflects the distress, impatience, and fretfulness that arise when you are separated from your phone, as well as constant thoughts about it when it is out of reach.

The remaining three facets explore the social and behavioral dimensions of your habits. Online Bonds measures the degree to which you prioritize virtual relationships over real-life connections, sometimes finding online interactions more intimate than face-to-face ones. Overuse looks at the practical signs of excessive use, such as draining your battery in less than a day or spending much longer on your device than you originally intended. Finally, Tolerance tracks your repeated, unsuccessful attempts to cut back on screen time, alongside feedback from friends and family who notice you are on your phone too much.

Academic research using the SAS has shown that high levels of phone addiction are often linked to increased stress, sleep disturbances, and lower academic or professional performance. Because smartphones are designed to capture and hold our attention, many people find themselves sliding into compulsive habits without realizing how much time they are losing. Understanding where you fall on these six dimensions can help you identify which specific areas of your life are most affected by your screen time, whether it is your real-world relationships or your ability to focus on daily tasks.

The chart alongside your results includes population comparison markers to help you put your scores into context. These markers are estimated approximations rescaled from published research samples using the original scale, rather than validated percentile norms for this specific test, so you should treat them as a general point of reference rather than a precise ranking of your habits.

Please keep in mind that this test is provided for educational and entertainment purposes only. It is not a diagnostic tool, and a high score does not constitute a clinical diagnosis of addiction or any other mental health condition. This assessment is based on the SAS but uses its own items and is not affiliated with Kwon, her co-authors, or their institutions. If you feel that your smartphone use is causing you significant distress or interfering with your ability to lead a healthy life, consider speaking with a qualified professional.

References

• Min Kwon, Joon-Yeop Lee, Wang-Youn Won, Jae-Woo Park, Jung-Ah Min, Changtae Hahn, Xinyu Gu, Ji-Hye Choi, Dai-Jin Kim. Development and Validation of a Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS) // PLoS One, 2013. 8(2).