Examining the effects of smartphones on posture among university students

Abstract

Introduction: The number of people using modern technological devices has increased dramatically in recent times. In particular, the use of smartphones plays a significant role in people s daily lives, and excessive use of them has a negative impact on our spine. Objective: The aim of this research was to examine the effect of smartphone use on posture among university students. Method: A total of 117 university students participated in our cross-sectional study, mean age 20.69 ± 1.35 years. Measured variables: sociodemographic data, time spent using smartphones (self-reported, screen time), smartphone addiction (Hungarian adaptation of the short version of the Smartphone Addiction Scale), cervical spine function (Neck Disability Index), posture in sitting and standing positions (Posture Screen) with and without phone use, neck stability (cervical flexion test), neck retraction muscle strength (cervical retraction test), lumbar motor control (Leg Lowering Test). Statistics: descriptive statistics, Kolmogorov Smirnov test, Mann Whitney test, Spearman s correlation calculation (SPSS 24 v., p<0.05). Results: University students showed significantly worse head posture while using their phones, both in the standing (p<0.001) and sitting positions (p<0.001). Higher smartphone addiction scores correlated with higher Neck Disability Index scores (p<0.001), worse posture (p<0.05), worse neck stability (p = 0.046), and weaker neck retraction strength (p<0.001). We found a significant association between the time spent using smartphones and forward head posture (p<0.05), and worse cervical spine function (p = 0.001). In the case of lumbar motor control, we did not find a significant association with any of the smartphone-related variables. Discussion: Our results are consistent with those of the international literature. Conclusion: Regarding our present sample, the smartphone addiction score correlated with the Neck Disability Index score, posture, and neck stability. Time spent using a smartphone was significantly associated with posture, and university students had significantly worse posture while using a smartphone than without.