Mobile Addiction and Digital Dependency among Young Adults: A Case Study

Parsappa, Research Scholar, Department of Journalism and Mass Communication Kuvempu University

E-Mail: parshumalli@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

The usage of mobile devices has increased among graduate students. Most of the students are using mobile devices to gather information and for entertainment purposes. Most of the girls are using their smartphones for more than three hours a day. But the least percent of students are addicted to smart phones; the maximum number of students says that they can live without mobile devices. In rural areas, girls are using smartphones for more than three hours a day. According to this study, most students are using mobile devices for academic purposes as well. After the pandemic, there was increased mobile usage among students; therefore, we conducted research on students. The main aim of this research is to know how students are addicted to mobile devices. In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, this study will be conducted on 60 respondents between the ages of 18 and 25 in Jnana Sahyadri Shankaraghatta. The study design will include a survey method and the tool will be a questionnaire. The convenience sampling method will also be used.

Key Words: mobile addiction, Adults, Digital, Youths, Smartphone, Students.

INTRODUCTION:

Today's smartphones have become so popular. From children to adults are being used. Everybody needs a mobile in their daily lives. We are completely dependent on our mobile devices and cannot live without them. According to the Statista 2023 report, 1 billion people are using smartphones in India. It was estimated that by 2040, smartphone users will reach 1.55 billion (Statista, 2023). India is the second-largest country in the world in terms of smart phone usage. Almost all people are addicted to smartphones. Without smartphones, people cannot spend time. Some people are pear they are not having their mobile phone with them (inner drive).

Mobile usage among students has increased since the pandemic. Before the pandemic, teachers used to tell children not to use mobile phones. But after Corona classes became online, mobile devices became essential for students. The phone is used for everything, from homework to school activities. The 2023 pan-India survey revealed that 49.3% of schoolchildren are using smartphones, but only 34% of students are using mobile devices for studies. In the case of parents of school children, aged 6–16, in rural communities across 21 states, more kids used smartphones for entertainment rather than for studying (The Hindu, 2023).

The popularity of mobile phone usage among students can be seen in this era. By using a smartphone, students become addicted, and smart phones are also impacting students.

The aim of this study is to find out how smart phone addiction impacts students. To achieve this objective, a study was conducted on 60 students aged 18–25 at Srimad Rambapuri Arts & Commerce Degree College, Jnana Sahyadri Shankarghatta. The study design is survey, and the data was collected through a questionnaire. The sampling method is convenience sampling method.

Literature Review

Vijay & Narra Pradeep (2020) conducted a research on Impact of Mobile Phone Users Among the College Students in Warangal. This research was conducted with the objectives of knowing the behavior of students using mobile and how mobile has influenced on them. In the result of the research, it is known that most of the students are dependent on mobile. Due to this, it is also known that the students are lagging in their studies. Mobile phones are spoiling the college students learning environment and worried with chatting in the social media’s. 

N. Swaroop and Reddy Ajaykumar (2021) Conduct research on Impact of mobile phone usage on psychological health status and academic performance of under graduate students in a private medical college. In this research, cross sectional study was conducted using 120 under graduate students. Result from this study found 45 percentage students’ spend- 4-6 hours a day to use the Smartphone. Meanwhile, 30 percent of student spends more than seven hours on and this figure quite worrying. This is because time allocation for Smartphone’s more than five hours is inappropriate for students who should prioritize academic issues and concentrate on learning rather than social issues as it will affect the academic achievement. The finding of this study showed that showed that most of the students used Smartphone’s to browse social networking sites. 

Mobile Phone Usage and Academic Performance Among College Students IN Kerala this research was conducted by P.K Anjali & Ashokan. A (2021). The students from four Universities in Kerala were selected for this research. The purpose of this research was to examine the influence of mobile phone usage on academic performance on university students in Kerala. For this research 845 students are collected randomly from these four Universities. Collected data are analyzed using hierarchical multiple regression model. Descriptive statistic is used to highlight the positive and negative effects of mobile phone usage. The major findings of this study are that the time duration of mobile phone usage adversely affects the academic performance of the students in University examinations. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) and hierarchical multiple regressions confirm that the excessive usage of mobile phones pull down academic performance.   

Navpreet Kaur (2018) conducted research on Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on the Academic Performance of Students. In this research survey was conducted on 50 respondents of Chandigarh University. Objective of this study was intensity of mobile phone addiction among the youngsters. As a result of the research, the rate of mobile usage among students has increased. It seems to have a negative and positive impact on the students. Students have agreed to use two are three mobile phone in this research.

Sameer Pundalik and Muralidhar Dhanawade (2023) Conducted research on Impact of Mobile Phone Usage on the Academic Performance of Students. The aim of this research is to determine the extent to which mobile phone are incorporated into students live. According to this research, mobile usage of students has increased. It is known that students are on their mobile during the class time, which is affecting the students academically. Survey based research has conducted among randomly selected graduate students. In this study, test of mobile dependence was used to assess the dependence on mobile phones, while the LIKART scale was used to evaluate the behavioral change based on self report.    

Significance of the Study

1.     By doing this research, we can understand the behavior of the students who have been addicted to mobile.

2.     This research is helpful to know the impact of mobile media on students.

3.     How students are utilizing mobile to get respective course-related information.

4.     This study is helpful to know how students are improving their knowledge by using mobile.

5.     To know how mobile will impact students in the future.

General objectives of Study:

To know Impact of mobile addiction on students

Specific Objectives of the Study

•       To know the students dependency level on mobile

•       To know the impact of mobile on students

•       To know the purpose of mobile usage

Research Methodology

In the present study, a descriptive study will be adopted. The study was conducted on 60 respondents between the ages of 18 and 25 in Shankaraghatta.

Statement of the Problem

The research study evaluates the impact of a study of ‘Impact of Mobile Addiction on Rambapuri Degree College Students’.

Data Collection and Interpretation

Primary data is collected through a questionnaire. The research was conducted on BA, B.com, and BCA students of Srimad Rambapuri College. The sampling method used was nonprobability sampling, i.e., Convenience sampling.

This research was targeted at BA, BCA, and B.Com students, ages 18–25. Students who are the most appropriate users of mobile this age group is most apt for this study. 

Data Analyzed 

Data was collected through a questionnaire, which was analyzed by using an Excel sheet for a simple representation of respondents answering the various options and by making tables and pie charts for presentation.

1. Mobile Usage.

Analysis: According to this result, all students have mobile devices. As the data shows, 100% of respondents are using mobile.

2. Mobile usage hours.

Analysis:  41.66% of students use mobile devices for more than three hours in a day. 28.33% of students use mobile for 1-2 hours a day. 18.33% of students use their phones for at least 2-3 hours per day. 11.66% of students use mobile devices for 10–60 minutes.

Inferences: This result shows that students are addicted to mobile. Most students use mobile devices for more than 3 hours. Even 23.30% of young women in the village use mobile for more than three hours, so the impact of mobile can be known.

3. Purpose of mobile usage.

Analysis: 53% of students use mobile devices for information. 28% of respondents use mobile for entertainment, and 10% of students use mobile to share opinions. And only 8.33% of students use mobile devices for educational purposes.

Inference: This shows that most of the students use mobile devices to get information. Mobile is very important to update students from day to day. Least percent of students use mobile devices for educational purposes. 

4. Mobile usage for educational purpose.

Analysis: 93.33%  of the respondents use mobile devices for educational purposes. 6.66% of students use mobile devices for other purposes.

Inference: We can see that most of the students use mobile for educational purposes, and some students use mobile for personal use. 

5. Impact of mobile on health.

Analysis: 25% of students answered that mobile is affected by health, and 75% of students said that mobile does not affect health.  

Inference: In this, most of the boys say that mobile phones affect health, and a small number of girls say they are not affected.

6. Text book reading habit on mobile.

Analysis: 86.66% answered that they have the habit of reading text books on their mobile devices. 13.33% of students say they don’t have the habit of reading text books on their mobile.

Inference: From this study, we can know that most of the students use mobile devices for study purposes as well. They have a reading habit on the go.

7. Use of mobile to communicate with teachers.

Analysis: 70% of students use mobile devices to communicate with teachers regarding study. 30% of students don't use it.

Inference: This shows that most of the students use mobile devices to communicate          with teachers  to clarify doubts.

8. Changes due to mobile usage.

Analysis: 45% of the students said that there has been a social change due to mobile 25% of students educational experiences change by using mobile. 21.66% of students said intellectual changes were caused by mobile usage. 8.33% of students said it was a waste of time and laziness to use a mobile.

Inference: This shows various changes in students due to the use of mobile phones. Most of the students are socially changed by using mobile devices. Some students have changed academically.

9. Students are prohibited from using mobile phone.

Analysis: 78.33% of parents do not allow students to use mobile phones. 21.66% of teachers do not allow students to use mobile phones.

Inference: This shows that after pandemic increased mobile usage among students. Most parents forbid their children from using mobile phones.

10. Types of Mobile being used.

Analysis:  95% of students use smartphones. 5% of students use Keypad.  

Inference: Most of the respondents use smartphones. That means they access the internet, and they have knowledge about social media and online games as well.    

11. Loneliness caused by the absence of Mobile phones.

Analysis: 35% of student respondents said that without mobile, they feel lonely. 65% of students answer that they don’t feel lonely without using mobile.

Inference: This study reveals that fewer students are addicted to mobile. Most of the students do not feel lonely without their phones.  

12. Getting course related information.

Analysis: 96.66% of students are getting course-related information via mobile. 3.33% of students are not getting any information regarding the course.

Inference: It shows that most of the students are utilizing mobile devices to get information about their respective courses. Students are less likely to use mobile devices for personal purposes.  

13. In the questionnaire, we asked about their opinion about the mobile phones. Students shared their opinions about mobile usage; half of them said it was good and half of them said it was bad.

Some are told that worldly information is available at their fingertips.

Research Findings

According to the study, 100 percent of students use mobile devices, with 95 percent using smartphones. Only 35 percent of students are addicted to mobile devices and feel lonely without them, while most students can live without them. Additionally, most students use mobile devices to gather information. According to the study, 41.66% of students use mobile more than 3 hours a day, but fewer students are addicted to mobile.

CONCLUSION

The usage of mobile devices has increased tremendously with the advancement of technology, both in positive and negative aspects. As per the research findings, most of the students said mobile is useful. They are using it for educational purposes to gather study material. Many students say that they have a text-book reading habit on their mobile devices. Even mobile devices are not affecting student’s health; few students say they are affecting their health. Since the modern technology has become the most integral part and parcel of our own existence, it has become inevitable for the mankind to go back to the former non technological arena where the absence of technical knowledge was at the peak. The consumerist nature of modern technology comes with its own set of positive and negative ideologies which are truly predominant in nature and it is the duty of mankind to reserve the positive affiliations while emphasizing less on the negative factors. While technology has an impeccable role in the formation of our planet in the modern ages, it can either be considered as a boon or a curse to the mankind. 

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