Assessment of smartphone addiction and usage habits by Latvian entrepreneurs to promote entrepreneurship

Society is often not aware of various environmental factors that negatively affect the mental health of individuals. The current study investigates the role of smartphones in respondents' leisure activities, highlighting how modern society's inhabitants frequently use IT technology and artificial intelligence services beyond work conditions, including their free time, which is often accompanied by a lack of awareness regarding their addiction. The rapid development of digital technologies and tools, along with their widespread use in the financial sector, has essentially created a new global digital environment. Several studies and regulatory documents have emphasized the idea that entrepreneurship in Latvia can become a catalyst for slowing down economic growth, allowing specific entrepreneurs to expand innovative activities that impact economic growth. The issue of changes in business development and their interrelation with economic growth remains a subject of discussion in the scientific literature. Objectives: (1) to review the current research about mobile phone addiction and misuse outside work arrangements and during leisure time; (2) to determine the relationships between such variables as the current state of the respondents' business (Real situation) and the understanding of the ideal business situation based on a strategy that includes the long-term use of mobile devices or other devices and technologies (Ideal situation); (3) to identify factors that contribute to business success and the improvement of economic conditions in Latvia. Methods/Approach: The study includes 453 respondents, entrepreneurs from various regions of Latvia. The survey 'Smartphone Addiction Scale' (SAS) was used to determine the content of 'smartphone addiction'. A questionnaire was designed to determine smartphone addiction dependence as a factor of the success of entrepreneurial activity. The main results of the study: An empirical study was conducted on respondents' dependence on smartphones, depending on their age and gender, which has not been studied before. During the study, the levels of addiction of the study participants were determined to their smart devices during their free time, outside their professional activities. Throughout this study, the key aspects that form the content of the concept of dependence of smart devices were formulated. During the course of the study, two trends or two factors were also identified that can contribute to the development of entrepreneurship growth in general: the Social and Organization content components.