Attachment styles condition the way in which young people between 18 and 24 years of age use their cell phones. This is revealed by a study of the Social Observatory of "La Caixa" Foundation, carried out by researchers of the group 'Youth in transition' of the Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) of the University of Navarra. 

From agreement with Javier García Manglano and Charo Sádaba, almost half use it mainly to communicate and socialize. This profile has a social and family attachment based on security and uses the cell phone to connect with other people.

This attachment subject , the secure one, is the most frequent among young Spaniards and leads to greater satisfaction with family and friendship relationships. "They are young people who feel listened to and cared for at home. They are able to talk and discuss in order to solve conflicts," emphasizes Professor Sábada, dean of the School of Communication. 

The other remaining percentage (53%) is divided between fearful avoidant attachment (22%, they flee from attachments for fear of being harmed), anxious attachment (16%, they excessively seek attachments and approval from others) and rejecting avoidant attachment (15% consider themselves self-sufficient and reject attachments).

Insecure attachment: use of the smartphone to escape

These profiles, who have traits of insecure attachment, find in the'smartphone' a way to escape. "They are suspicious of relationships and make compensatory use of the cell phone because they are lacking in their real life. They feel bad and the phone serves them to shop or distract themselves," explains Professor García-Manglano. "It is a way of giving vent to a difficult status or not to face problems."

The study highlights that attachment style - vital for the quality of interactions - has, however, little relationship with the time spent using social networks. The general trend among 18-24 year olds is a decrease in the use of social networks, from about three hours a day to about two hours and average. This trend is observed among both securely and insecurely attached young people, who barely maintain a difference of five minutes a day.