Open Journal of Business and Management, 2021, 9, 213-232 https://www.scirp.org/journal/ojbm ISSN Online: 2329-3292 ISSN Print: 2329-3284 DOI: 10.4236/ojbm.2021.91012 Jan. 12, 2021 213 Open Journal of Business and Management Empirical Analysis of Factors Contributing to Smartphone Addiction Megan Emfosi Meena 1* , Shao Kang 1 , Benedictor Alexander Nguchu 2 , Nalugoti Milly 1 , Jesse Jackson Makwetta 1 , Akwi Helene Fomude 1 1 School of Economics and Management, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan, China 2 Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at Microscale, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects of loneliness, shyness, social anxiety, and external locus of control on the smartphone ad- diction among undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students in China. Methodology: Our research used questionnaires as a method of response generation. 240 returned questionnaires were useable from which results were derived. We used Pearson’s Correlation Analysis to analyze the relationships between the variables and their significance. The reliability of the study was assessed through Cronbach’s Alpha. Result and Findings: The analysis of the study revealed that the variables were significant and positively correlated with each other. Loneliness had a strong correlation to smartphone addiction, shyness and social anxiety were moderately correlated, whereas, external lo- cus of control was weakly correlated to smartphone addiction. Research Im- plications: This study can be used by universities and educational ministries in China in order to understand the behaviors and addictions of students and can devise strategies on how to successfully tackle this situation in students. Limitations: The respondents’ pool of this study is constricted and only in- volves students in China. The analysis is purely quantitative and this study was conducted on a cross-sectional basis. Future Research: Further research can be conducted by diversifying the pool of respondents, conducting a lon- gitudinal study, and employing qualitative methods to analyze the research. Keywords Loneliness, Shyness, Social Anxiety, External Locus of Control, Smartphone Addiction How to cite this paper: Meena, M. E., Kang, S., Nguchu, B. A., Milly, N., Mak- wetta, J. J., & Fomude, A. H. (2021). Em- pirical Analysis of Factors Contributing to Smartphone Addiction. Open Journal of Business and Management, 9, 213-232. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojbm.2021.91012 Received: November 26, 2020 Accepted: January 9, 2021 Published: January 12, 2021 Copyright © 2021 by author(s) and Scientific Research Publishing Inc. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY 4.0). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Open Access