Year: 2025 | Month: August | Volume: 15 | Issue: 8 | Pages: 40-45
DOI: https://doi.org/10.52403/ijhsr.20250806
Assessment on Usage of Mobile Phone and Internet Dependency Among Medical Students
Najnin Khanam1, Anusha Choudhary2, Tanmay Choudhary3, Shagufta Khanam4, Md. Jawed Akther5
1Department of Community Medicine, 5Department of General Surgery.
IMS & SUM Hospital Campus-II, Siksha 'O' Anusandhan Deemed to be University, Bhubaneswar, India.
2,3,4Intern, Shri Shankaracharya Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhilai. Pt. Deendayal Upadhyay Memorial Health Sciences & Ayush University of Chhattisgarh, India.
Corresponding Author: Dr. Md. Jawed Akther
ABSTRACT
Background: In the beginning, mobile phones were primarily utilized for communication, but now, Internet-enabled mobile phones have become an essential aspect of our everyday lives. One recurring concern involves mobile Internet dependency.
Methods: The cross-sectional study was done among under graduate medical students, studying in one of the private medical colleges of Chhattisgarh, India. Stratified random sampling was done and 200 participants were included for study. Nineteen dichotomous questions were used to assess mobile Internet dependency and mobile Internet usage index was calculated.
Results: More than 85% of students reported, an increase in both the time spent on the Internet and the frequency of Internet usage since acquiring their mobile device. 60% reported, their academic performance was negatively affected by the excessive time spent on their mobile device browsing the Internet. 61% of students experienced sleep disturbance at least once a week, 91.5% of students watched online videos on their mobile device weekly, 42.5% played games daily, 47% bought digital products monthly, 68.5% checked online accounts several times a day, 79.5% used their device for navigation and 63.5% checked real-time information daily. 61.5% students were moderately dependent and 14% were severely dependent on mobile Internet.
Conclusions: Students' dependency on mobile phones had raised concerns about potential addiction, which was affecting their academic performance negatively. It would be useful to advise the students about the controlled as well as proper usage of mobile phones.
Key words: Internet, Mobile phone, Student.