The Impact of Smartphone Usage on Students’ Lifestyles from the Perspective of Students’ Learning, Physical Activity, and Social Relationships

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the impact of students’ use of smartphones on their lifestyles at the university stage. Using an analytical descriptive approach and data collected by self-administered questionnaires comprising 36 items, smartphone usage was measured by determining the type of smartphone, family and environment orientations toward smartphone usage, and the psychological motivations for using smartphones. Students’ lifestyles were estimated by the learning, physical activity, and social relationships of students. The study’s instrument reliability and validity were tested and then the questionnaire was distributed randomly to 285 students enrolled in Princess Rahma College of Al-Balqa Applied University, in different scientific fields. By using simple and multiple regression analyses, the study established that students are psychologically motivated to use smartphones and that their families’ orientations and their environment orientations towards using smartphones significantly affect the students’ lifestyles at the significance level of α ≤ 0.05. The type of smartphone device did not significantly affect the students’ lifestyles at the level of α ≤ 0.05. According to the study’s results, a set of recommendations were provided that include the responsibility of educational institutions, families and media to create awareness of the negative aspects of excessive smartphone use.