There are many benefits for students to have a smartphone.
Smartphones keeps them constantly connected to friends, family and the Internet. Their cell phones are rarely out of reach whether the setting is a college classroom, library, recreational center, cafeteria or dorm room; They have become central to college student's lives.
However, a new study has found that frequent cell phone use is linked to anxiety, lower grades and reduced happiness - measurable outcomes that are important for student success, according to a press release.
Researchers and faculty members at Kent State University surveyed more than 500 undergraduate students. They recorded daily cell phone use along with a clinical measure of anxiety and each student's level of satisfaction with their own life.
Then the participants allowed the researchers to access their official university records in order to retrieve their actual, cumulative college grade point average (GPA).
Based on the study, researchers found that high frequency cell phone users tended to have lower GPA, higher anxiety, and lower satisfaction with life (happiness) relative to their peers who used the cell phone less often. The statistical model illustrating these relationships was highly significant.
Results of the analysis showed that cell phone use was negatively related to GPA and positively related to anxiety. Following this, GPA was positively related to happiness while anxiety was negatively related to happiness.
The students surveyed were equally distributed by class - freshman, sophomore, junior and senior.
According to the press release, researchers said the results suggest students should be encouraged to monitor their cell phone use and reflect upon it critically so that it is not detrimental to their academic performance, mental and physical health, and overall well-being or happiness.
