How Dental Students were Reliant upon Mobile Phones? – A Post-COVID Cross-Sectional Self-Concept Questionnaire (SCQ) Survey

Abstract

Background: The availability of research on smartphone usage is quite remarkable. It is evident how technology has played a critical role during the pandemic. Despite affording benefits, there seem to be many potential challenges experienced during this period, likely overuse and addiction. However, these effects can be a source of mental and physical health problems with significance for individuals’ work and academic performance. With this background, the current study tried to investigate changes in smartphone usage before and after COVID-19. Objectives: To evaluate the mobile phone usage pre-and post-pandemic in dental students’ perception and to characterize its impact on their socio-demographic & psychological aspects. Methodology: A self-reported cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted among students from a dental institution in Guntur city of Andhra Pradesh from January to February 2023. The questionnaire contains demographic information, frequency of mobile usage, screen time, and day-to-day changes associated with it. Results: A total of 168 participants were included in the study, of which a majority of them were females (79.2%). The study participants mentioned that the time spent on smartphones and social media has increased (54%) since COVID-19. Also, they mentioned that usage of gaming apps (89.3%) seemed an increase since the pandemic. Conclusion: As COVID-19 brought up significant changes, this has forced dental students to increase mobile usage and to continue that even after the pandemic. The study population showed a high dependence on mobile phones for various activities like online games, media, web searches, etc., highlighting the need for the development and implementation of effective mobile withdrawal strategies to promote academic advancements.