Revisiting the Relationship Between Smartphone Use and Academic Performance: A Large-Scale Study

Yanqing Lin, Yong Liu, Wenjie Fan, Virpi Kristiina Tuunainen, Shengli Deng

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleScientificpeer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Despite the increasing popularity of smartphones in our daily lives, their usage among college students has been broadly discouraged because ample studies demonstrate that this usage has a strongly negative impact on academic performance. This study strives to revisit this relationship by scrutinizing the distinctions among mobile applications. Based on a survey of more than 10,000 college students, our study offers robust evidence that, if used appropriately, smartphones can motivate better academic performance. Specifically, based on activity theory and psychological trait theories, we quantify the impacts of using six different mobile applications on students’ academic performance and detect their indirect impacts mediated by both nomophobia (the fear of being unavailable to mobile phones) and behavioral habits. Two kinds of poor sleep habits are investigated: late sleep and insomnia. Our results reveal positive, direct impacts of using mobile learning and news applications on academic performance and adverse effects of playing mobile games, as well as using social media, music and video, and entertainment book-reading applications. Notably, the use of mobile learning applications does not contribute to nomophobia. However, the other five types of mobile applications — social media, mobile games, music and video, entertainment book reading, and news — do.
Original languageEnglish
Article number106835
Number of pages11
JournalComputers in Human Behavior
Volume122
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sept 2021
MoE publication typeA1 Journal article-refereed

Keywords

  • Smartphone applications
  • Mobile learning
  • Nomophobia
  • Life habits
  • Academic performance

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