A survey based study of impact of smartphone usage on the academic performance among medical students

Abstract

Introduction: Mobile phone usage has become indispensable, especially among the youngsters. This has brought about psychological dependency towards mobile phones leading to addiction in them. Excessive use of mobile phones is known to be associated with headache, ear ache, warmth sensations and also perceived concentration difficulties. Materials and methods: A total sample of 100 undergraduate students were selected randomly, with 58 female participants and 42 male participants. These students came within the age range of 17-25 years. For this study, we developed a structured questionnaire with items included demographic information like age and gender, self-reported mobile phone usage and effect of its use in academic activities. This survey was conducted online. The students of selected batches were approached in the lecture hall and they were informed about the survey and their consent to participate in the study was obtained. The questionnaire link was sent to the students and the researcher explained the procedure to answer the questions. Then the students were asked to submit the filled forms. Results: The 64 respondents (64%) were of age between 17-19 years followed by 31 (31%) students from the age group 20-22 years and only 5 (5%) respondents belong to the age group 23-25 years. It was noteworthy to mention that all the 100 respondents (100%) were using smart phones. Conclusion: The present study group of medical students felt that overuse of smart phone is the main reason for their poor academic performance. They also realise the ill effect of overuse of mobile phones on health. The present study helped us to create awareness among the participants regarding the impact of overuse of smart phones and how it is influencing their academic activities. Universities and colleges can also create awareness regarding mobile phone use.