Mobile phone use and misuse have become a pressing challenge in today’s society. Dangerous mobile phone use,
such as the use of a mobile phone while driving, is widely practiced, though banned in several jurisdictions.
Research aiming at unfolding the psychological predictors of dangerous mobile phone use have so far been
scarce. Especially, researchers have never taken the role of self-esteem into account, which is unfortunate given
prior research linking self-esteem to addictive mobile phone use. In the present study, we evaluated the associations
between both explicit and implicit self-esteem and dangerous mobile phone use, with a particular focus
on phoning while driving. To do so, we assessed implicit self-esteem among 95 participants (89 females) via the
Implicit Association Test and explicit self-esteem via a self-reported measure. Problematic mobile phone use and
demographic data were assessed with self-reported measures. Implicit self-esteem predicted dangerous mobile
phone use, even after we controlled for demographic data and mobile phone dependence. Explicit self-esteem,
however, was related to neither dependence nor dangerous use of the mobile phone, thereby supporting the
importance of distinguishing between explicit and implicit self-esteem. Our results set the scene for new research
avenues regarding mobile phone use while driving.