Smartphones are an indispensable tool for approximately 3 billion people worldwide due to their ease of use (Zhang et al., 2021). These tools, which are used for gaming, online shopping, education, and various social activities in daily life, increase the risk of addiction in excessive and uncontrolled use (Zou et al., 2019). Smartphone addiction (SA) is considered a type of behavioral addiction (Nunes et al., 2021). In a comprehensive examination across various regions, prevalence rates of SA within the 6–18 age group were reported as follows: 31.5% in Italy (Serra et al., 2021), 39–44% in India (Davey & Davey, 2014), 20% in Spain (Sánchez-Martínez & Otero, 2008), 10% in the United Kingdom (Lopez-Fernandez et al., 2014), 39.6% in Korea (Doo & Kim, 2022), 22.8% in China (Zou et al., 2019). While there is a lack of statistical data on the prevalence of SA among adolescents in Turkey, it was reported that 73.8% of individuals in the 16–74 age group are users of social media. Additionally, the rate of internet usage among children aged 6–15 is documented at 82.7% (Turkish Statistical Institute, 2021).

Most smartphone addicts use smartphones to communicate with others without face-to-face contact due to loneliness, shyness, and lack of self-confidence (Walsh, 2007). This situation can become pathological, and the person starts to spend high amounts of money on smartphones to have the latest applications and versions. Users may neglect their daily work as their attachment to their smartphones increases. The excessive and unreasonable use of smartphones intensifies the severity of SA (Aljomaa et al., 2016). Smartphone addicts are generally known to isolate themselves and have a high level of loneliness. This form of addiction has both economic and psychological repercussions on individuals (Walsh, 2007).

Although the relationship between SA and depression has been investigated in studies, it is not clear whether SA causes depression or depression causes SA. Studies reported that SA is associated with physical and psychological problems (Bian & Leung, 2014; Wei & Lo, 2006). Bian and Leung (2014) stated that those who have loneliness and depression problems use smartphones more (Bian & Leung, 2014). Wei and Lo (2006) revealed that SA was associated with low self-esteem, loneliness, and depression (Wei & Lo, 2006). Park and Lee (2022) observed that as the duration of digital activity increased, sociability and academic achievement decreased, while depressive symptoms increased (Park & Lee, 2022).

Researches on smartphone usage can help to prevent overuse and addiction (Clay, 2018). Enhanced understanding of the effects of technological device usage, particularly among nurses, can enable the design of effective interventions and the development of methods to mitigate overuse (Nayak & Pai, 2022). Nurses and health professionals should be aware of the risks of inappropriate smartphone use. Collaboration should be made with parents to identify high-risk symptoms suggestive of addiction. They should follow possible side effects and make necessary interventions to prevent the harmful effects of excessive smartphone use (Serra et al., 2021).

Although the relationship between SA and depression (Aljomaa et al., 2016; Lee et al., 2021), SA and loneliness (McClelland et al., 2020) have been investigated separately in the studies to date, to the best of our knowledge, no study has analysed the relationship between SA, loneliness and depression, and no modeling has been done with structural equation modeling. This study aims to fill this gap by investigating the interplay between smartphone addiction, loneliness, and depression in adolescents.