Smartphone addiction among post-graduate management students: The Indian experience

Abstract

This study aimed to recognize the patterns of smartphone addiction among post-graduate management students in the North-East Region of India. The validated Smartphone Addiction Proneness Scale (SAPS) was administered to the respondents, and two different methods, namely SAPS method and median-based scoring method, were used to measure smartphone addiction. The measurement results of smartphone addiction show evidence that the student respondents are not vulnerable to smartphone addiction. Principal component analysis with promax rotation (Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin measure = 0.84; Bartlett’s test of sphericity = 0.000) demonstrated four crucial components that signify smartphone addiction which are habitual issues (issues relating to regularly or repeatedly doing or practicing something), withdrawal anxiety, tolerance, and usage outcomes. Gender was not seen to play a significant role in these components. The duration of use of a smartphone was seen to have a significant relationship with the component of habitual issues but not with the other components.