Anja Stevic

All Publications

• Generative AI in practice: An umbrella review of risks, benefits, ethics, and future directions across major domains TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY Hodzic, S., Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2026; 87

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103331

  View details for Web of Science ID 001745110300001

• Cognitive and affective predictors of sharing intentions on social media: the role of anxiety, social benefits, and risks JOURNAL OF RISK RESEARCH Freiling, I., Stevic, A. 2026

  View details for DOI 10.1080/13669877.2026.2644339

  View details for Web of Science ID 001719310500001

• "There Are Risks, but I Will Use It Anyway": Predicting the Urge to Regulate and the Intended Use of Generative AI Among Youth in Four Countries HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES Matthes, J., Hodzic, S., Stevic, A., Nanz, A., Binder, A., Chan, M., Bojic, L. 2026; 2026 (1)

  View details for DOI 10.1155/hbe2/3060652

  View details for Web of Science ID 001735336100001

• User-Centric Definitions of Quality Content and Engagement on Instagram Stevic, A., Wang, Y., Liu, S., Hancock, J., ACM ASSOC COMPUTING MACHINERY. 2026

  View details for DOI 10.1145/3772363.3798726

  View details for Web of Science ID 001792737300464

• Tell me more: Longitudinal relationships between online self-disclosure, co-rumination, and psychological well-being COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR Stevic, A., Koban, K., Matthes, J. 2025; 165

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2024.108540

  View details for Web of Science ID 001399221100001

• Of Loving and Losing: The Influence of Dating App Motivations and Perceived Success on Psychological Well-Being SOCIAL MEDIA + SOCIETY Stevic, A., Lee, A. Y., Liu, S., Hancock, J. 2025; 11 (2)

  View details for DOI 10.1177/20563051251346888

  View details for Web of Science ID 001517512300001

• Observing phubbing behaviors during casual and serious conversations: consequences for conversation quality, connectedness, and appropriateness. BMC psychology Stevic, A., Liftinger, H., Matthes, J. 2025; 13 (1): 170

  Abstract

  The present study investigated observers' perspectives of smartphone use during social interactions in serious and casual conversational contexts, suggesting gender differences. The results of the between-subjects 2 × 2 experimental study show that female observers perceive lower conversation quality when observing phubbing than male observers, aligning with the need-threat model's assertion of female susceptibility to social exclusion. Moreover, observing phubbing diminishes perceived appropriateness of the interaction. Interestingly, no disparity was found in casual versus serious topics of the conversations. Societal implications are discussed.

  View details for DOI 10.1186/s40359-025-02426-4

  View details for PubMedID 40016858

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC11869694

• Time to BeReal! Exploring users' well-being in relation to BeReal use duration NEW MEDIA & SOCIETY Kankova, J., Stevic, A., Binder, A., Matthes, J. 2025

  View details for DOI 10.1177/14614448251317689

  View details for Web of Science ID 001424972200001

• Dating algorithms? Investigating the reciprocal relationships between partner choice FOMO, decision fatigue, excessive swiping, and trust in algorithms on dating apps NEW MEDIA & SOCIETY Binder, A., Stevic, A., Matthes, J., Thomas, M. F. 2024

  View details for DOI 10.1177/14614448241270542

  View details for Web of Science ID 001330260500001

• Sharing is caring: The positive role of smartphone co-use in social dynamics MOBILE MEDIA & COMMUNICATION Meeus, A., Stevic, A. 2025; 13 (1): 129-150

  View details for DOI 10.1177/20501579241269589

  View details for Web of Science ID 001290597800001

• Reflective smartphone disengagement as a coping strategy against cyberbullying: A cross-country study with emerging adults from the United States and Indonesia NEW MEDIA & SOCIETY Khaleghipour, M., Koban, K., Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2024: 5640-5658

  Abstract

  Cyberbullying is a highly prevalent phenomenon among emerging adults, and it may lead to severe psychosocial harm for some targets. Understanding how emerging adults can cope with cyberbullying by altering their media use but without risking one of their crucial social lifelines, mobile social media, during the process is essential. To this end, this study examines a stress-coping process that involves cyberbullying as a stressor and reflective smartphone disengagement as a well-balanced coping strategy, accounting for gender-related, dispositional, and cultural specificities of emerging adults (aged 16-25, N = 4029) from the United States and Indonesia. With substantial invariance across countries, findings show that cyberbullying is related to higher perceived stress, especially for men and people with high levels of self-esteem, which, then again, is associated with reflective smartphone disengagement, in particular among American men and people with higher self-esteem.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/14614448241254015

  View details for Web of Science ID 001234235500001

  View details for PubMedID 41041385

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC12488049

• Under Pressure? Longitudinal Relationships between Different Types of Social Media Use, Digital Pressure, and Life Satisfaction SOCIAL MEDIA + SOCIETY Stevic, A. 2024; 10 (1)

  View details for DOI 10.1177/20563051241239282

  View details for Web of Science ID 001193625800001

• Co-present smartphone use, friendship satisfaction, and social isolation: The role of coping strategies COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2023; 149

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2023.107960

  View details for Web of Science ID 001093142300001

• Distracted Children? Nighttime Smartphone Use, Children's Attentional Problems, and School Performance Over Time JOURNAL OF EARLY ADOLESCENCE Stevic, A., Schmuck, D., Thomas, M. F., Karsay, K., Matthes, J. 2024; 44 (2): 223-249

  View details for DOI 10.1177/02724316231164734

  View details for Web of Science ID 001059355200001

• Fear of Missing Out, Reflective Smartphone Disengagement, and Loneliness in Late Adolescents CYBERPSYCHOLOGY BEHAVIOR AND SOCIAL NETWORKING Matthes, J., Stevic, A., Koban, K., Thomas, M. F., Forrai, M., Karsay, K. 2023; 26 (10): 731-738

  Abstract

  Reflective smartphone disengagement (i.e., deliberate actions to self-regulate when and how one should use one's smartphone) has become a necessary skill in our ever-connected lives, contributing to a healthy balance of related benefits and harms. However, disengaging from one's smartphone might compete with impulsive psychosocial motivators such as fear of missing out (FoMO) on others' rewarding experiences or feelings of loneliness. To shed light into these competitive processes, the present paper disentangles the reciprocal, over-time relationships between reflective smartphone disengagement, FoMO, and loneliness using data from a two-wave panel study among emerging adults (16-21 years of age). Measurement-invariant structural equation modeling suggests that FoMO and reflective smartphone disengagement negatively predict each other over time, indicating a possible spiraling process. In addition, reflective smartphone disengagement was also negatively related to feelings of loneliness. Together, these findings underline (a) how young people's impulsive and reflective system compete with each other over control of their smartphone usage, where (b) psychosocial benefits of reflective smartphone disengagement were validated among emerging adults, potentially helping them to strengthen the benefits and limit the harms of permanent interactions with and through technology.

  View details for DOI 10.1089/cyber.2023.0014

  View details for Web of Science ID 001047938900001

  View details for PubMedID 37582211

• A tale of two concepts: differential temporal predictions of habitual and compulsive social media use concerning connection overload and sleep quality JOURNAL OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION Koban, K., Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2023; 28 (2)

  View details for DOI 10.1093/jcmc/zmac040

  View details for Web of Science ID 000913098100002

• Sleeping with the smartphone: a panel study investigating parental mediation, adolescents' tiredness, and physical well-being BEHAVIOUR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Karsay, K., Schmuck, D., Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2023; 42 (11): 1833-1844

  View details for DOI 10.1080/0144929X.2022.2100277

  View details for Web of Science ID 000826240100001

• Reflective smartphone disengagement: Conceptualization, measurement, and validation COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR Matthes, J., Karsay, K., Hirsch, M., Stevic, A., Schmuck, D. 2022; 128

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.chb.2021.107078

  View details for Web of Science ID 000740278900014

• You are not alone: Smartphone use, friendship satisfaction, and anxiety during the COVID-19 crisis MOBILE MEDIA & COMMUNICATION Stevic, A., Koban, K., Binder, A., Matthes, J. 2022; 10 (2): 294-315

  Abstract

  Due to 'stay-at-home' measures, individuals increasingly relied on smartphones for social connection and for obtaining information about the COVID-19 pandemic. In a two-wave panel survey (N Time2 = 416), we investigated associations between different types of smartphone use (i.e., communicative and non-communicative), friendship satisfaction, and anxiety during the first lockdown in Austria. Our findings revealed that communicative smartphone use increased friendship satisfaction over time, validating how smartphones can be a positive influence in difficult times. Friendship satisfaction decreased anxiety after one month, signaling the importance of strong friendship networks during the crisis. Contrary to our expectations, non-communicative smartphone use had no effects on friendship satisfaction or anxiety over time. Reciprocal effects showed that anxiety increased both types of smartphone use over time. These findings are discussed in the context of mobile media effects related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

  View details for DOI 10.1177/20501579211051820

  View details for Web of Science ID 000724895400001

  View details for PubMedID 35515341

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC9019501

• A vicious circle between children's non-communicative smartphone use and loneliness: Parents cannot do much about it TELEMATICS AND INFORMATICS Stevic, A., Matthes, J. 2021; 64

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.tele.2021.101677

  View details for Web of Science ID 000710676500001

• 'Age Matters': A panel study investigating the influence of communicative and passive smartphone use on well-being BEHAVIOUR & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Stevic, A., Schmuck, D., Matthes, J., Karsay, K. 2021; 40 (2): 176-190

  View details for DOI 10.1080/0144929X.2019.1680732

  View details for Web of Science ID 000495907000001