Pathological Internet use, cyberbullying and mobile phone use in adolescence: a school-based study in Greece

Author(s):  
Zoi Tsimtsiou ◽  
Anna-Bettina Haidich ◽  
Anastasios Drontsos ◽  
Fotini Dantsi ◽  
Zafiria Sekeri ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose This study investigated the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and cyberbullying and examined profiles of adolescents with increased risk to develop pathological behaviors. Methods In this cross-sectional, school-based study, 8053 students of 30 middle and 21 high schools (12–18 years old) were invited to participate, based on a multistage stratified random sampling technique. The Internet aiddiction test (IAT) was used along with information on socio-demographics, Internet activities and cyberbullying experience. Results Five thousand five hundred and ninety students participated (response rate 69.4%). Pathological Internet use (IAT ≥50) was found in 526 (10.1%), while 403 (7.3%) experienced cyberbullying as victims and 367 (6.6%) as perpetrators during the last year. In multivariable models, the odds of IA increased with online hours on mobile phones and Internet use during weekends, Internet café visits, chatrooms usage and engagement in cyberbullying. Cyberbullying victims were more likely to be older, female, Facebook and chatrooms users, while perpetrators were more likely to be male, older Internet users and fans of pornographic sites. A perpetrator was significantly more likely to have also been a victim [odds ratio (OR) = 5.51, confidence interval (CI): 3.92–7.74]. Hours of daily Internet use on a mobile phone was independently associated with IA and cyberbullying (OR) 1.41, 95% CI 1.30, 1.53 and OR 1.11, 95% CI 1.01, 1.21, respectively. Conclusions Cyberbullying is associated with IA and the hours spent online on a mobile phone affected both conditions. The increasing Internet access through mobile phones or other devices should be accompanied by the appropriate education of both parents and adolescents on safe Internet use.

2018 ◽  
Vol 56 (209) ◽  
pp. 522-526 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kriti Thapa ◽  
Rita Pokharel ◽  
Rambha Sigdel ◽  
Surya Prasad Rimal

  Introduction: The charm of mobile phone is more among young generation and the increasing use can lead to various harmful effects and may result in dependence. The objective of the study is to evaluate the pattern of mobile phone use among medical students. Methods: A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted on a total of 229 medical students aged between 18 and 25 years who were using mobile phones for more than 1 year by using simple random sampling technique. Students were requested to complete a pre-tested self-administered questionnaire which comprised their socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of mobile phone usage. Results: Among the total 229 students, all of them had their own smart phones. Major purpose of using mobile was for calling, listening music, taking photos/videos and internet use. Most of the students 97 (42.4%) have owned mobile phones since 4-6 years. The median time spent by the students on the mobile phone using different features of mobile phone was 3.5 hours. Majority of the students i.e. 157 (68.5%) use mobile phones at night. The median amount of money spent on recharge per month was 500. Age of student was significantly (P <0.05) associated with calls per day. There was no significant association of pattern of mobile phone use with other selected socio-demographic variables Conclusions: Students were found to use mobile phone excessively. The pattern of mobile phone usage among the students in this study may signal the evolution of mobile phone use from a habit to an addiction.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shangfeng Tang ◽  
Bishwajit Ghose ◽  
Md Rakibul Hoque ◽  
Gang Hao ◽  
Sanni Yaya

BACKGROUND The public health system in Bangladesh has been struggling to provide coverage and utilization of basic maternal health care services in pursuit of achieving maternal and child mortality-related goals. Interestingly, the rapid popularization of mobile technology in the country is transforming the landscape of health care access and delivery. However, little is known regarding the use of mobile phones from the perspective of maternal health care service utilization. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to investigate the prevalence and sociodemographic pattern of mobile phone use for health services among women and relationship between the use of mobile phone use and the uptake of essential maternal health services (MHSs). METHODS Cross-sectional data from the Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey on 4494 mothers aged between 15 and 39 years were used in the analysis. Using mobile phones to get health services or advice was hypothesized to have a positive association with the uptake of basic MHSs (antenatal care, ANC, facility delivery services, postnatal care) and postnatal care for the newborn. Data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariable techniques. RESULTS More than a quarter (1276/4494, 28.4%; 95% CI 26.8-30.3) of the women aged 15-39 years reported using mobile phones to get health services with significant sociodemographic variations in the use of mobile phones. Analysis of the specific purposes revealed that, in most cases, mobile phones were used to contact service providers and consult with the same about what to do, whereas a smaller proportion reported using mobile phone for the purposes of arranging money and transportation. Multivariable analysis showed that compared with respondents who reported not using mobile phones for health care services, those who used them had higher odds of making 3+ ANC visits and delivering at a health facility. The odds were slightly higher for rural residents than for those in the urban areas. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this study conclude that women who use mobile phones are more likely to use ANC and professional delivery services than those who do not. More in-depth studies are necessary to understand the mechanism through which mobile phone-based services enhance the uptake of maternal health care.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Josephat Muntangadura ◽  
Barbra Mazarire

Mobile phones are now being used by all members of society, men, women and the children. When members of society use them it affects their lives, thus the research is interested in exploring how mobile phone usage affects the lifestyles of female university students. The study explored the dependency and effect of mobile phone usage among female students at a university of technology. A cross-sectional survey was carried at Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Soshanguve South campus. The study focused on the following objectives: exploring the classification of female university students who own cell phones, establishing the general phenomena influencing the use of mobile phones by female university students at a university of technology and perceived gratification and finally establishing the patterns of mobile phone use by female students and the lifestyle patterns generated thereafter. The study collected data from 100 female students at the institution using a survey. The findings indicated that the main reasons female university students at TUT use a mobile phone are for socialising, sharing academic work and solutions as well as for safety and privacy purposes. The major reason for choice of brand was seen to be usability and price. The respondents showed some signs of addiction to their mobile phones. The findings of this study are beneficial to marketers of mobile phones in Pretoria and the rest of the country; it is also useful to mobile phone developers, universities, parents, and researchers exploring mobile phone adoption and usage pattern in a developing country such as South Africa.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (6) ◽  
pp. 32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gershom Endelani Mwalupaso ◽  
Xu Tian ◽  
Eunice Matafwali ◽  
Moses Chansa Mwamba ◽  
Essiagnon John-Philippe Alavo ◽  
...  

There is a growing use of mobile phones in rural areas on account of its relative inexpensiveness and lack of requirement for an urban environment. As a platform for accessing information through text messages and voice calls, farmers are able to collect agricultural information which may lead to higher productivity due to technology spillover. If the use of mobile phones contributes to the improvement of farmers&rsquo; productivity, their agricultural output level should increase. In this study, we investigate the adoption of mobile phones to obtain agricultural information and its effect on smallholder maize farmers&rsquo; production using cross-sectional data from Zambia. Understanding such causal effects is indispensable especially against the background of vision 2030. The propensity score matching (PSM) method was adopted to estimate the average treatment effect of treated of mobile phone adoption in agriculture. We found that the use of mobile phones significantly increases farmers&rsquo; productivity, by about 30%. If farmers start to adopt mobile phones to collect agricultural information, the total maize output would also increase by 30.36%, which would culminate in feeding two more people per household daily for the whole year. Therefore, we cautiously conclude that mobile phone use in agriculture serves the purpose of contributing to the fight against hunger via enhancing maize production and this is driving its popularity among smallholder farmers in rural Zambia.


Author(s):  
M Meraji ◽  
R Nourouziaval ◽  
P Marouzi ◽  
Z Morshedlo ◽  
S Mahmoodian

Introduction: Mobile learning is a new way of modern teaching method and a subset of e-learning that refers to a change in thinking about the design and planning of learning goals and environments. The purpose of this study was to investigate the attitude of students of the Medical Sciences School toward the mobile phone in educational activities and its usage. Methods: 150 students of Mashhad School of Paramedical Sciences were investigated in this cross-sectional study in 2019-20, using a researcher-made questionnaire including three sections on student demographic information, mobile applications in education, and student attitude toward mobile phone use in educational activities. The questionnaire`s validity was obtained according to 7 experts' opinions in the field of education, and its reliability was calculated using Cronbach's alpha of 0.794. Data were analyzed by descriptive and analytical statistics using SPSS 16 software. Result: From the investigation of 150 students of Mashhad Paramedical Sciences opinions in six educational groups indicated that students of health information technology, laboratory science, physiotherapy, ophthalmology, radiology, speech therapy, medical records, mostly used mobile phones for their educational activities respectively. The most common use of students' mobile phones at university was the use of the Internet and social networks, taking photos and videos, and the most common use in teaching activities was reading files, viewing scores, recording audio and selecting units. From the students' perspective, using mobile phones in educational activities leads to getting higher scores, doing activities faster, make better communication between teacher and student, and speeded up the learning feedback. Conclusion: According to the results, we suggest encouraging teachers to use mobile phones in academic activities and running workshops to increase the awareness of mobile capabilities. Also educational planners, and mobile based learning programs should design educational software to promote the correct culture of mobile use in educational activities.


2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Aini Maznina A.Manaf ◽  
Tengku Siti Aisha Tengku Azzman ◽  
Saodah Wok

One of the worst ever flood disasters in Malaysian history that occurred in December 2014 has caused a lot of damage including to lives, houses and material possessions. Large parts of the country mainly in the East Coast area consisting of Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang have been badly affected. This study was conducted to explore the use of the mobile phone during the 2014 Malaysian flood. A cross-sectional survey with a total number of 507 respondents who live in the flood affected areas was conducted to examine the use and satisfaction obtained from the usage of the mobile phone. Being active users of the mobile phone, flood victims mainly used it to obtain information about the flood situation in their community and to communicate with close family members. Furthermore, mobile phones were used to gratify social, entertainment, and mobility needs. Findings of the study will have implications on uses and gratifications, mobile phone use and natural disasters


Author(s):  
Shreya Sodhani ◽  
Priyanka Gupta ◽  
Anuradha Kunal Shah

Background: Mobile phone use has become such a significant part of the life of medical students that they do not realize their level of dependence on their cell phones. It is therefore imperative to identify the threshold where mobile phones cross the line from being a helpful tool to becoming one that enslaves the users. They need to be made aware of the harmful effects of excessive use of mobile phones and counseled about ways to avoid it. This study aims to assess the prevalence and pattern of mobile phone dependence among medical students.Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among MBBS students of a medical teaching institute in Mumbai. A predesigned and pretested questionnaire (NMP-Q) was sent to all the students out of which 205 students responded and consented to participate in the study.Results: Amongst all the study participants, 47.3% were males (97/205) and 52.7% were females (108/205). Mild Nomophobia was found in 19.04% students whereas 50.70% had moderate and 30.26% had severe Nomophobia. Amongst the males, 56.7% and 26.8% had moderate and severe Nomophobia, respectively while in females, moderate and severe Nomophobia was found to be 45.4% and 33.3%, respectively.Conclusions: Mobile phone dependence is prevalent amongst medical students. 


Author(s):  
Boaz Stanslaus Kiberiti ◽  
Camilius Aloyce Sanga ◽  
Mussa Mussa ◽  
S. D. Tumbo ◽  
Malongo R.S. Mlozi ◽  
...  

This study sought to investigate on the access and use of mobile phones for improving the coverage of agricultural extension services among farmers in the pre-harvest stages of maize value chain in Kilosa district. The study examined the use of mobile phones as a means for improving the coverage of agricultural extension services. The study adapted a cross sectional study design and a multistage sampling technique. Data were mainly collected using structured questionnaires. The results revealed that majority of respondents used mobile phones and had a positive attitude on the contribution of mobile phone in their farming business. The study results also indicated that mobile phones offered an affordable solution to farmers' information needs and information requirements. The study concluded that the use of mobile phone to communicate agricultural information depends on information needs of farmers. The study recommended that farmers need to be encouraged and supported to access and use mobile phones in their farming business.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1993-2002
Author(s):  
Najam Siddiqi ◽  
Muhammad Humza Kamal ◽  
Faisal Moin ◽  
Mohammad Amir Rafei ◽  
Fatma Al-Shehi ◽  
...  

The use of mobile phones has become increasingly common among general population, but how much has it increased among the young school going population remains to be seen.Our objective was to investigate the prevalence of mobile phone use, during and after school hours, and its ownership in the primary and secondary section students in Oman.We surveyed 414 students in Cycle 1 and 1438 students in Cycle 2 in the city of Sohar, North Al Batinah region of Oman. Students completed a paper-based questionnaire about mobile phone use, the apps they use and whether their parents keep a check on their cell phone use. 86% of primary section students reported using a mobile phone whereas 91% of students in secondary section reported use of mobile phone. Most popular mobile use among the primary section students were playing games on mobile phones whereas, secondary section students mostly used their phones to access internet. 86.7% of primary section students said that their parents were aware of how they used their mobile phones compared to 83.4% students in secondary section. Smart phone ownership and its use in school going students in Oman have increased from the past and is now almost the same in the students of primary and secondary sections. Students now start using mobile at a much younger age;however, the parents are well aware of the contents on their children’s mobile devices and sometimes even take away their mobile phone as punishment.


Author(s):  
Boaz Stanslaus Kiberiti ◽  
Camilius Aloyce Sanga ◽  
Mussa Mussa ◽  
S. D. Tumbo ◽  
Malongo R.S. Mlozi ◽  
...  

This study sought to investigate on the access and use of mobile phones for improving the coverage of agricultural extension services among farmers in the pre-harvest stages of maize value chain in Kilosa district. The study examined the use of mobile phones as a means for improving the coverage of agricultural extension services. The study adapted a cross sectional study design and a multistage sampling technique. Data were mainly collected using structured questionnaires. The results revealed that majority of respondents used mobile phones and had a positive attitude on the contribution of mobile phone in their farming business. The study results also indicated that mobile phones offered an affordable solution to farmers' information needs and information requirements. The study concluded that the use of mobile phone to communicate agricultural information depends on information needs of farmers. The study recommended that farmers need to be encouraged and supported to access and use mobile phones in their farming business.


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