English

Abstract

BACKGROUND Smartphone use has gone tremendously up throughout the world during the past decade and addiction potential is well documented among the users. Smartphone addiction among adolescents and young adults should be seen with caution as they lay the foundations not only for their healthy lives but also of the country’s future and its economy, they live in. METHODS Both school and college students aged between 15 - 24 years were enrolled in this cross sectional study, using systematic random sampling technique to determine smartphone addiction potential through Smartphone Addiction Scale (SAS). The possible factors contributing to SAS scores were also determined through statistical tests (Chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis H test and Mann Whitney U test). RESULTS Among a total of 239 respondents of age 15 to 24 years (mean age 18.5 ± 2.35 years), there were 124 (51.9 %) females and 231 (96.7 %) belonged to the urban area. Most of the participants were studying in high school (40.6 %) followed by medical field (40.2 %). A total of 110 (46 %), students had used their smartphone commonly for social media purpose, followed by entertainment purpose (29.3 %), education (36 %), web surfing (20 %). The median daily usage of smartphone was found to be 4 hours among participants. The mean score of SAS was found to be 103.59 ± 25.08. There was statistically significant difference in SAS score according to age group, according to their smartphone usage per day, according to common purpose of usage of smartphone and also according to their streams, and monthly expenses the student spends to recharge their smartphone. CONCLUSIONS Smartphone addiction potential was determined according to various social and demographic characteristics. Factors causing smartphone addiction should be tackled by multiple stakeholders to reduce the chances of addiction due to smartphone and to protect them from future health consequences. KEYWORDS Adolescent, Smartphone Addiction, Smartphone Addiction Scale, Young Adults