Smartphone addiction among medical college students in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Abstract

Background: Smart phones have become an integral part of youth. But at the same time addiction towards its use have become a serious concern among them. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of smart phone usage among medical college students and their demographic characteristics.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted on 192 medical students. A self administered SAS scale has been used to assess the level of smart phone addiction. Subjects were classified into smart phone non-user group, a low smart phone user group and a high smart phone user group.Results: Out of 192 subjects who completed the questionnaires 85.40% (n=164) had smart phone addiction. Out of the total 192 students 28 students (14.60%) were low smart phone users, of which 9 were boys (14.30%) and 19 were girls (14.70%). Among 164 (85.40%) high smart phone users 54 students were boys (85.70%) and 110 were girls (85.30%) which was not statistically significant at 5% level (chi square=0.007, p=0.935).Conclusions: Medical college students in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are more vulnerable for smart phone addiction.