Publication:

Smartphone addiction among medical college students in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Background Smart phones have become an integral part of youth. But at the same time addiction towards its use have become a serious concern among them. The objective of this study was to evaluate the level of smart phone usage among medical college students and their demographic characteristics.

Methods A cross sectional study was conducted on 192 medical students. A self administered SAS scale has been used to assess the level of smart phone addiction. Subjects were classified into smart phone non-user group, a low smart phone user group and a high smart phone user group.

Results Out of 192 subjects who completed the questionnaires 85.40% (n=164) had smart phone addiction. Out of the total 192 students 28 students (14.60%) were low smart phone users, of which 9 were boys (14.30%) and 19 were girls (14.70%). Among 164 (85.40%) high smart phone users 54 students were boys (85.70%) and 110 were girls (85.30%) which was not statistically significant at 5% level (chi square=0.007, p=0.935).

Conclusions Medical college students in Andaman and Nicobar Islands are more vulnerable for smart phone addiction.