The Human Evaluation Model (HEM)-Approach for Smartphone Addiction: A Grounded Theory Study

This study was conducted with the purpose of analyzing smartphone addiction aspect from the HEM (human evaluation model) perspective to search for a strategy to overcome smartphone addiction. The HEM is a Korean Confucianism philosophy-based quantitative person evaluation model through which the perception change process of participants of smartphone addiction aspect and coping strategy were examined. According to the reputational-case selection method, 8 participants were selected to conduct the grounded theory presented by Strauss and Corbin (1998). Through open coding, 12 sub-categories and 6 categories were deduced from 32 concepts in total. Through axial coding, the HEM paradigm model on smartphone addiction was presented. Through selective coding, properties and dimension of ‘HEM-based smartphone addiction aspect’ were deduced, and the core category called ‘HEM-based smartphone addiction conquest strategy’ was named. In regards to the existing scale for diagnosing smartphone addiction, it has not been able to deal with measurement method considering the personal characteristics. The result of this study provides a theoretical foundation related to smartphone addiction diagnosis and problem-solving method considering personal characteristics.