Smartphone dependency and its impact on academics among medical and nursing students: A cross-sectional study

Objective: This study aimed to assess smartphone dependency and its impact on academics among medical and nursing students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) and Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BScN) students in a medical teaching institute. The Smartphone Dependency Scale and self-structured questionnaire on impact of smartphone on academics were used to assess smartphone dependency and its impact on academics. A total of 436 students were selected using the total enumerative sampling technique. Data were analyzed using the descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation) and inferential (t-test, Chi-square test) statistics. Results: The mean age of students was 20.6 ± 1.29 years, 81% were females, and the mean body mass index score was 21.59 ± 3.41 kg/m2. The mean impact on academics and smartphone dependency scores was 19.92 ± 7.01 and 48.58 ± 11.46, respectively. The impact on academics had a significant association with student category (P < 0.001) and gender (P < 0.001). A significant association was found between the impact on academics (P = 0.003) and smartphone dependency (P = 0.05) with studying class. Conclusion: The use of smartphones is more among medical students. Students studying in the first and second years are found to be more dependent on smartphone, which caused a serious impact on their academics. Smart appliances have become mandatory in this era of technology, and it is not possible to stop its usage but negative impact of smartphones on students' academic performance needs to be addressed. Therefore, it is mandatory to organize educational seminars and workshops to promote the appropriate use of smartphones.