Mobile usage among degree college students in industrial township of western Maharashtra - “A descriptive study”

Abstract

Background: With the advent of smartphones, there is an exponential increase in mobile usage and addiction. The statistics pointing toward mobile dependence in adolescents are of paramount importance to assess the prevalence in them and suggest measures accordingly. Aim: To observe the usage and dependence among the degree college students in an industrial township. Materials and Methods: A validated and structured questionnaire was distributed among the students at a women's degree college in western Maharashtra and responses were collected after obtaining consent. Along with sociodemographic details, qualitative and quantitative information regarding mobile usage were collected. Data were cleaned, coded, and analyzed after ensuring the confidentiality of their information using SPSS v26.0. Results: The mean age of the participants was 18.9+/-1.8 years. The mean time spent on mobile was 2.4+/-0.4 hours per day. Mobile dependency was found in 48% of participants. The mean total score was 92. The primary purpose for using the internet was to browse (41%) and social media 36%. The main benefit of using the internet was searching for information urgently (62.5%). A major limitation of using was felt as the internet to be very slow 61 (42.3%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of smartphone dependence in college students.