Journal
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
Volume 19, Issue 6, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19063710
Keywords
smartphone addiction; university students; academic performance; physical and mental well-being
Funding
- Deanship of Scientific Research at Umm Al-Qura University [22UQU4310204DSR01]
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This study aims to investigate the impacts of smartphone addiction on university students in Saudi Arabia. Findings showed that most participants were smartphone-addicted, with age, family background, and usage habits being the main factors influencing addiction. Decision makers should pay attention to this issue and consider enhancing education on smartphone addiction for university students.
Smartphone use can lead to smartphone addiction, which is a growing concern worldwide. However, there are limited studies about smartphone addiction and its impacts on university students in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to fill this gap. This is a quantitative study conducted among undergraduate students in Umm Al-Qura University (UQU), Saudi Arabia from May 2019 and February 2021. Study data were collected using both online and hard copy administered surveys. A self-administered questionnaire, Grade point average, Smartphone Addiction Short Version, and Kessler Psychological Distress scales were used to assess the outcomes. A total of 545 undergraduate students, mostly females, aged <= 21 years old and lived with large family sizes. More than half owned a smartphone for 5-8 years and the majority used their smartphone on average 6-11 h per day for social networking (82.6%), entertainment (66.2%) and web surfing (59.6%). Most of the participants were smartphone-addicted (67.0%). Logistic regression analysis showed that age <= 21, not gainfully employed, small family size and high family income were the main significant socio-demographic predictors of smartphone addiction. Smartphone-addicted participants were more likely to: have lower academic performance (GPA); be physically inactive; have poor sleep; be overweight/obese; have pain in their shoulder (39.2%), eyes (62.2%) and neck (67.7%) and have a serious mental illness (30.7%). This finding has significant implications for decision makers and suggests that smartphone education focusing on the physical and mental health consequences of smartphone addiction among university students can be beneficial.
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