The Impact of Upward Social Comparison on Smartphone Addiction Among Adolescents: The Moderating Role of Football Participation

Against the background of widespread digital technology use and the increasing prevalence of smartphone addiction among adolescents, upward social comparison has been identified as an important trigger of addictive behaviors. However, the moderating role of sports participation and potential differences across types of sports remain unclear. This cross-sectional study aimed to examine the effect of upward social comparison on smartphone addiction among adolescents and to test the moderating role of football participation. A questionnaire survey was conducted among 2451 primary and secondary school students from 162 schools across 13 provinces in China. The survey included the Upward Social Comparison Scale, the Smartphone Addiction Scale—Short Version, and the Sports Participation Scale. SPSS 27.0 was used to perform descriptive statistics and correlation analyses. Moderation analyses and multi-group comparisons were conducted using PROCESS 4.2. The results showed that upward social comparison positively predicted smartphone addiction among adolescents. Sports participation significantly buffered the association between upward social comparison and smartphone addiction (β = −0.055, p < 0.001). Football participation showed a significant moderating effect (β = −0.062, p < 0.05). Higher levels of football participation were associated with a stronger buffering effect. In contrast, individual sports did not show a significant moderating effect (β = −0.029, p = 0.394). These findings suggest that upward social comparison is a risk factor for smartphone addiction among adolescents. Football participation may effectively reduce this risk, but individual sports did not exhibit a comparable moderating effect. This study provides empirical evidence to support the development of targeted intervention strategies for adolescent smartphone addiction.