Assessment of Smartphone Addiction among adolescents in a University

Introduction: A smartphone is a combination of cellphone and handheld computers that created the greatest tech revolution since the Internet. The official name for smartphone addiction is Nomophobia which is defined as having a fear of not being with your phone. Objective: To assess the smartphone addiction among adolescents and its association with socio demographic factors. Methodology: A cross sectional study among adolescents in a university in Mangalore among students <19yrs of age. Sample size was estimated using the prevalence formula, taking prevalence as 50% and allowable error of 5%. A validated, self-administered questionnaire was used for assessment. Proportion for addiction and Chi Square analysis was done. Results: A total of 426 students were enrolled for the study. The prevalence of smartphone addiction was 57% in the study population, females had higher addiction scores than males. There was significant association of family annual income, monthly pocket money and occupation of the father with smartphone addiction. Conclusion: The prevalence of smartphone addiction among adolescents is high. The results of our study showed that smartphone addiction is more prevalent in the families with higher economic status.