Relationship among smartphone usage, addiction, academic performance and the moderating role of gender: A study of higher education students in India

Smartphones have penetrated into people's lives at a faster pace in the recent times in India. They are being used for several purposes besides talking and messaging such as live chatting, searching for information, mobile banking and entertainment, etc. The discussions over the smartphone has taken over personal discussions and one to one interactions among people. The usage has become so high that it has turned into addiction in many cases. In this study smartphones's addiction on students academic performance has been measured and the effect of gender and relationship status on smartphone usage and addiction has also been checked. Smartphone usage has been measured with the help of amount of time spent on the phone and monthly bill. A questionnaire was constructed and administered to 429 higher education students in India to check addiction, effect on performance and smartphone usage, along with the main utilities of a smartphone and the demographic profile of the respondents. Results show that the usage is more in the case of females than male students. However the effect on performance is found to be severe in the case of the male students. Apart from behavioural changes female students were found to have hardly any effect of Smartphone addiction on them, unlike the male students who were found to neglect work, feel anxious and lose control of themselves.