Relationship between mobile phone screen time and the quality of life among students in University of Peradeniya

Abstract

Increased smartphone usage among young people poses concerning risks of addiction and detrimentally impacts their quality of life (QoL). Therefore, this study aimed to describe mobile phone screen time and its association with QoL among undergraduates. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 662 undergraduates from University of Peradeniya using stratified random sampling method. Data were collected through an online questionnaire, which included validated tools such as the Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS-SV) and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Questionnaire (WHOQOL-BREF). Descriptive statistics and independent sample t-tests were used to examine associations between variables. A total of 533 participants (80.5% response rate) participated. The mean age was 23.6 years (SD= ±1.89) and the majority were females (61.2%; n=326). The average duration of using mobile phones was 5.27±2.83 hours on a weekday and 6.96±3.17 hours on a weekend day. WhatsApp (93.7%; n=492) was the most commonly used application followed by Facebook (72.2%; n=379) and Instagram (37.9%; n=199). The average score of smartphone addiction was 30.69±10.17 with 44.5% (n=237) of participants found to be addicted. In the QOL assessment, the mean scores for Physical, Social, Environmental and Psychological domains were 63±14.8, 56±17.4, 56±13.6, 54.5±8.5 respectively. Participants who were addicted to their mobile phones had significantly lower scores in both physical (p=0.002) and psychological (p=0.010) domains. Leisure time activities showed significant associations with all domains of QoL (Physical p<0.001, Psychological p<0.001, Social p=0.001, Environmental p=0.008). The study has found that higher mobile phone screen time has made a negative impact on QoL. Therefore, undergraduates must be aware on the use of mobile phone in productive way, and they should be encouraged to reduce the mobile phone screen time and involve with leisure time activities to improve their QoL.