Social Phenomena of Mobile Phone Use: An Exploratory Study in Taiwanese College Students

Abstract

With the dramatic increase in mobile phone usage in recent years, reports of mobile phone addiction have come in public use. While researches on other media addictions have been published, mobile phone addiction is rarely understood. Although scholars have examined in detail how heavy uses of certain media adversely affect students' academic performances, little is known about how mobile phones usage relates to academic performance. For most young people in Taiwan, a country with a high density of mobile phone users, using a mobile phone to network with family and friends has become a daily routine. This exploratory study examines the relationship between mobile phones use, mobile phone addiction, social capital, and academic performance in Taiwanese college students. This study seeks to determine the relationship between mobile phone addiction and depression among college students in Taiwan, the relationships among mobile phones usage, mobile phone addiction, and social capital, and finally, the relationships among mobile phone addiction, mobile phone usage, and students' academic performance. An online survey was designed and administered to 166 Taiwanese college students. The results showed there were no significant relationships between mobile phone addiction and depression in the sample. Heavy mobile phone users reported better relationships with their friends and family. Heavy mobile phone users also reported that frequent use of their mobile phones adversely affected their academic performance and learning, whereas light mobile phone users reported that their academic performance and learning were less negatively impacted by their mobile phones usage. However, respondents who were extremely heavy mobile phone users reported that their mobile phones positively affected their academic performance.