Between dependence and risk: young people's digital behaviours and forms of vulnerability

This study investigates the relationship between problematic smartphone use (Giancola and Salmieri, 2019, 2024) and direct exposure to digital risks associated among individuals aged 14 to 34. The study is based on an original survey designed to investigate digital habits, perceptions, and forms of vulnerability linked to the use of mobile devices. The research integrates the dimensions of problematic use and exposure to negative consequences of digital life through a multivariate approach aimed at identifying differentiated vulnerability profiles. In the first phase of the analysis, a multidimensional scale is used to measure dysfunctional smartphone use through indicators of impairment in daily activities and concentration, physical and psychological symptoms related to prolonged use, and compulsive and social components of behaviour. From this battery, a synthetic index of smartphone overuse is constructed – interpreted as a measure of the extent to which smartphone use interferes with daily life, generates symptoms of dependence, and manifests as a behaviour that is difficult to control. The index – validated through ad hoc testing – serves as a proxy for problematic use, consistent with the literature on behavioural addictions and digital dependency. In the second phase, an index of direct exposure to digital risks is constructed based on reported experience with negative situations associated with digital technologies, including cyberbullying, cybersecurity issues, misinformation, and problematic dependencies. This index measures personal vulnerability to the problematic effects of the digital environment rather than mere cognitive awareness of risks. The last step of the analysis consists of examining the relationship between the two constructs: the smartphone overuse index and the index of experiential exposure to digital risks. The working hypothesis posits that higher levels of overuse are associated with a greater likelihood of having directly experienced problematic online situations. This is consistent with the idea that more intense and less regulated smartphone use increases opportunities for relational, informational, and psychological vulnerability. To test this, both indices are transformed into ordinal quartile variables and then subjected to Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) to explore the relational structure between levels of overuse and exposure. Based on the extracted factors, a cluster analysis is conducted to identify typologies of digital users. The clusters will be described using structural variables (gender, age, family cultural background) and indicators of device usage intensity, and relational dimension, considered both as control variables and as possible mediators of the link between overuse and exposure. Methodologically, the goal is to estimate the internal consistency of the two indices and to investigate their structural relationship through exploratory and multivariate techniques. Substantively, the goal is also to analyse the latent relationships between the two measures, characterizing them in terms of ascriptive and processual dimensions to identify the composition of groups most exposed to risk, with the aim of informing strategies of support, intervention, and education. Overall, the study frames the link between dysfunctional smartphone use and digital vulnerability as two interconnected dimensions of participation in online life: the former focusing on individual behaviours, the latter on its social and relational consequences. This perspective shifts the focus from “addiction” as an individual pathology toward an interpretation of overuse as a structural risk factor, reflecting broader transformations in the ways young people live, communicate, and experience digital connectedness in contemporary society.