"This study is to investigate the difference in the possibility of mobile phone addiction depending on the level of self-esteem, the personal background and the variables related to cellular phone use, and to provide the materials for the understanding of the mobile phone addiction and the therapeutic guidance. This study analyzes a total of 307 questionnaires intended for 320 vocational and academic high school students(boys and girls half-and-half) in south and north Seoul, and hypothesizes the following research questions.
The major findings are as follows. First, there is no difference in mobile phone addiction depending on the residential district, GPA, sex, the level of living and the sort of school. Second, there is a significant difference in mobile phone addiction depending on the amount of time using mobile phone, the frequency of sending text messages and the average number of mobile phone calls a day. It seems that the longer they use their mobile phones and the more frequently they send text messages and speak by mobile phones, the more likely they are to be addicted. Third, there is a meaningful difference in mobile phone addiction depending on the level of self-esteem. Those who have lower self-esteem tend to be addicted. Fourth, the amount of time using mobile phones, the average number of sending text messages a day, the average number of mobile phone calls a day and the level of self-esteem are shown to be significant factors. In contrast, sex, the residential district, the kind of school, GPA and the level of living are revealed to make no difference.
Key words : high school, mobile phone addiction, self-esteem"