Smartphone usage patterns in public universities in Malawi: student perspectives

Mwambakulu, Michael Francis; Chikumba, Patrick Albert

doi:10.7553/86-2-1907

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Unfortunately, users of mobile devices spend more than 20 hours weekly on email, social networking services, and text messages [11]. Nevertheless, excessive use of smartphones is haphazard to ocular health [12].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Malawi, students use mobile phones for communicating, engaging on social media, and accessing the internet. Despite the pandemic, smartphones have become popular in public universities in the country since most libraries lack computers and up-to-date books [11]. Previous studies [13,8] investigated the effect of smartphones on accommodation parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effect of Age and Sex on Ocular Parameters Associated With Smartphone Use Among Students in Malawi: a Cross Sectional Study

Chikuse

Mzumara

Afonne

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background Globally, the usage of digital screens is on the rise. Students are among the most users of smartphones in pursuit of academic endeavors. However, digital screens can increase the incidence of various ocular problems. Aim The aim of the study was to examine changes associated with accommodation parameters following the usage of smartphone use among university students. Methods This was a cross-sectional study conducted at Mzuzu University. We recruited 77 undergraduate students using a stratified random sampling technique. Then, we measured AF and AA before and after using a smartphone for 30 minutes while reading N8 optotypes held at 40 cm. We measured AA using the pushup method and recorded the result in diopters and AF using flippers and recorded cycles per second. We entered the data in SPSS version 25. Paired t-test was used to investigate pre and post-smartphone use measurements. We ran a person correlation test to analyze the relationship between age and change in parameters. A one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the association with gender. We considered the value of p < 0.05 statistically significant. Results The change between pre and post-smartphone use was statistically significant across all parameters. According to age, all the parameters increased significantly with an increase in age. However, there was no significant association with gender across all parameters. Conclusion Smartphone usage has an effect on the amplitude of accommodation and accommodative changes. The effect of smartphones on accommodation parameters increases with increasing age. Nevertheless, there are no gender-related differences in accommodative changes following smartphone use. Therefore, elderly users of digital devices in universities should visit eye care practitioners for a full eye examination to enable a better experience with digital devices.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Age and Sex on Ocular Parameters Associated With Smartphone Use Among Students in Malawi: a Cross Sectional Study

Chikuse

Mzumara

Afonne

et al. 2023

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Mobile Use in the Classroom is a Mixed Bag, and Lecturers Need to Provide Students With Guidelines

Hasan,

Karimuzzaman,

Abdulla

et al. 2024

Sage Open

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In the era of modern life, the use of mobile devices in the classroom helps to enhance the overall performance of students, however, it has some harmful effects on academic performance. Therefore, this study attempts to identify the association between mobile phone use and the academic performance of the students of Jahangirnagar University, Bangladesh. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) is used for identifying the relationship among variables. Results revealed that about 80% (269) of the students use mobile phones during class, among them, 65.05% (175) use mobile phones for browsing social sites and texting purposes and 24.54% (66) use them to send and receive phone calls. Moreover, students’ academic results are significantly ( p < .001) associated with whether students use their mobile phones in the classroom. The results of SEM depict that positive features including recording lectures, support to study, remainder to-do lists, etc., and other features of the mobile phone have played a role positively in improving academic performance, however, different types of distractions have an adverse effect on the academic performance of students. This study explored the relationship between students’ academic performance and mobile applications that help to provide guidelines for students about mobile in the classroom.

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Smartphone usage patterns in public universities in Malawi: student perspectives

Cited by 2 publications

References 25 publications

The Effect of Age and Sex on Ocular Parameters Associated With Smartphone Use Among Students in Malawi: a Cross Sectional Study

The Effect of Age and Sex on Ocular Parameters Associated With Smartphone Use Among Students in Malawi: a Cross Sectional Study

Mobile Use in the Classroom is a Mixed Bag, and Lecturers Need to Provide Students With Guidelines

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