Investigation of University Students’

Smartphone Usage Levels and Effects

Feyzi Kaysi
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa, Turkey

Mehmet Yavuz
Bingol University, Turkey

Emrah Aydemir
Sakarya University, Turkey

www.ijtes.net

To cite this article:

Kaysi, F., Yavuz, M., & Aydemir, E. (2021). Investigation of university students’
smartphone usage levels and effects. International Journal of Technology in Education and
Science (IJTES), 5(3), 411-426. https://doi.org/10.46328/ijtes.235

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 International Journal of Technology in Education and Science

2021, Vol. 5, No. 3, 411-426 https://doi.org/10.46328/ijtes.235

Investigation of University Students’ Smartphone Usage Levels and Effects

Feyzi Kaysi, Mehmet Yavuz, Emrah Aydemir

Article Info Abstract

Article History Smartphones are among the most used devices. Considering the high rate of
Received: usage by university students, these devices' intended usage is a matter of
19 February 2021
curiosity. The purpose of this study is to determine the smartphones usage
Accepted:
duration and purpose of using for university students. The study was carried out
20 June 2021
with a qualitative design. In the first stage of the study, smartphones' usage
duration were obtained from 29 participants via a smartphone application.
Considering these data, in the second stage, data were collected from seven
Keywords participants via semi-structured interview form. Among the study results, it was
Smartphone usage
determined that smartphones and smartphone applications were used extensively.
Smartphone application
Smartphone effect Although this intensive usage causes on students' physical problems, there is no
Learning process change in use intensity. According to the results, it was determined that the level
of use of smartphones for following the educational processes or for improving
learning is in the last place. Besides, problems were identified in students'
participation in learning processes and focusing on lessons. The most used
application types are messaging, social networks, video watching and editing,
and game applications. Among the study's suggestions, reducing students'
intensively usage and guiding students for using smartphone applications that
support learning processes are stated.

Introduction

The 21st century transforms the world with ever-increasing technological advances that leave a mark in all life
areas. The share of the internet and mobile phones in this transformation is quite large. In this context,
smartphones, one of the most used technological devices, are becoming widespread day by day. Features such
as installing different applications, sending messages, online research tools, playing games, sending e-mails,
taking photos and videos, listening radio and music, sending and receiving data, and most importantly, using
social network applications are increases the usage rates of smartphones (Aljomaa, Qudah, Albursan, Bakhiet
and Abduljabbar, 2016). In addition to these features, it can be stated that today's usage rates have increased
with new and more developed smartphone applications.

Smartphones and Operating Systems

Smartphones are defined as multipurpose communication devices that support their users in a wide range of
activities such as social networking, browsing, entertainment, and information search by installing various

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applications and network connection (Deng et al., 2019; Schrock, 2015). These phones, equipped with wireless
connectivity and many applications, are stated to be a portable computing device, changing people's time
management and daily practices (Oulasvirta, Rattenburyi, Ma & Raita, 2012). It is also defined as a mobile
phone with an operating system (such as Apple iOS, Android, Windows Phone, Symbian OS or Blackberry) that
offers an internet connection and allows users to download applications (Taylor & Levin, 2014). These
operating systems, which act as an interface between the user and the hardware, differ according to their
features. This difference also affects the preferences of devices with operating systems. According to a report by
Statista (2020a), smartphones with the Android operating system are the most used mobile operating system,
with 74.13% of the market share in December 2020. Its longtime competitor, iOS, has a market share of 24.8%,
just behind it. While the total percentage of these two operating systems was around 80% of the market until
only five years ago, today, this rate has increased to 99%. In this respect, considering the operating systems, it
can be understood that Android and iOS operating systems can dominate the market for many years.

Many mobile applications work with operating systems and record human-computer interactions. These bring
many opportunities with their features and affect their preference by users (Miller, 2012). This situation is
reflected in the number of downloads of applications to smartphones. According to Statista (2020b) data, while
107 billion (App Store: 30; Google Play: 77) applications were downloaded in 2018, this number increased to
116 billion in 2019 (App Store: 31; Google Play: 85) and 141 billion in 2020 (App Store: 39; Google Play: 102)
has been released. In the future, 147 billion downloads are estimated in 2021, 159 billion in 2022, and 171
billion in 2023. In another study, the average number of smartphone applications in 2010 was between 22 and
37, while this number increased to around 60-90 applications in 2018. However, only 20% of these applications
were found to be regularly used by the user. Also, users spend 77% of their time with three applications and
99% with ten applications (Blair, 2020; Shin, Hong, & Dey, 2012). The increase in these applications increases
the number of people connecting more to the phone and starting applications. In this context, people who start
applications more than 60 times a day are called "mobile addicts". Although mobile addicts currently account
for only 13% of mobile application users worldwide, this group is overgrowing. The number of mobile addicts
has more than doubled in the last year. Again, the largest mobile application users, which make up slightly more
than half of the population, are called "normal users" who open an application less than 16 times a day. There
has been a modest increase in the number of regular users. People in this third group are called "super users".
Superusers make up almost a third of the population, and their numbers have increased by 50% in one year
(eMarketer, 2014).

Sales Rates of Smartphones

Phones are used at work, at home, on the street, while eating, in bed, and even in cars. You may even be reading
this article on a mobile device right now. Research shows that an ordinary person checks his/her phone every 12
minutes. 10% of people check their phones every four minutes (SWNS, 2017). This increase in usage increases
in parallel with the number of smartphones. The distribution of the worldwide smartphone sales figures by year
is given in Figure 1.

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Figure 1. The Number of Smartphones Sales Worldwide between 2007-2021

When Figure 1 is examined, the number of smartphones sales to users worldwide from 2007 to 2021 can be
seen. Around 1.52 billion smartphones were sold worldwide in 2019. This figure has decreased by 2%
compared to the previous year. The sales numbers, which showed an increasing trend every year, showed a
downward direction only in 2019. In 2020, it reached 1.57 billion, with an increase of approximately 1.5%.
Finally, the sales forecast for 2021 is expected to increase by 1.1% to 1.58 billion. The increase in sales figures
between 2007 and 2020 in the chart is at a record level with approximately 1199% (Statista, 2020b).

Effects of Smartphones: Positive and Negative

Smartphones are used for various purposes. Among these purposes of use, there are reasons such as accessing
health information, performing banking transactions, controlling real estate websites, accessing educational
content, and surfing the Internet (Smith, 2015). Besides, applications related to personal productivity, social
networks, sports, and food in smartphones are preferred (Linnhoff & Smith, 2016). Some negative situations
may arise, depending on the use of smartphones. It has been determined that smartphones prevent individuals
from engaging in their work, which causes problems, sleep deprivation due to the time spent with smartphones,
and spending more time with smartphones (Horwood & Anglim, 2018). In addition to the advantages of
smartphones' accessibility, it is pointed out that such devices can lead to excessive dependence and dependence
on mobile technology (Roberts, Yaya, and Manolis 2014). The term nomophobia, which refers to excessive
smartphone usage, has been used frequently (King et al., 2014; Yildirim and Correia, 2015).

Nomophobia has been defined as a new type of phobia that is a product of the interaction between people and
new technologies (King, Valença, & Nardi, 2010). Individuals with homophobic behaviours experience
psychosocial, behavioural, and anxiety disorders that affect their lives while away from their mobile devices
(Dixit et al., 2010). The increase in the frequency of homophobic behaviour due to excessive smartphone use of

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an individual cause adverse effects such as decreased academic performance, lack of motivation in the learning
process, antisocial behaviour, changes in cultural values and family relations, decreased social interactions,
sleep disorders, stress, anxiety and decreased physical activities (Adnan & Gezgin, 2016; Schweizer, Berchtold,
Barrense-Dias, Akre, & Suris, 2017). It has also been stated that excessive mobile phone use is associated with
panic disorder (King, Valença, & Nardi, 2010), depression (Alhassan et al., 2018), social anxiety, and loneliness
(Gao, Li, Zhu, Liu, & Liu 2016). Many people use their smartphones before bed to check and reply to social
media and messages (Deloitte, 2016), which significantly affects the amount and quality of sleep. According to
Cooper (2015), in a study of 10,000 people between the ages of 16 and 19 on the significant impact on sleep
quality, those who spend more than four hours a day looking at the screen are one and a half times more likely
to sleep during the day and sleep under five hours a night than other people. It has been seen to be more. Abo-
Jedi (2008) determined that a significant portion of university students are smartphone addicts. Some studies
also revealed that women are more dependent on smartphones than men (Billieux, Linden, & Rochat, 2008;
Choliz, 2012; Walsh, White, Stephen, & Young, 2011).

Many features of the phones are designed for entertainment and pleasure. For this reason, teachers may think
that smartphones can inhibit learning rather than learning support. For example, students who played games for
a long time with their electronic devices decreased course material and general performance (Anshari,
Almunawar, Shahrill, Wicaksono, & Huda, 2017). Some instructors stated that students suffer from attention
deficit in lessons because they carelessly participate in non-academic activities via smartphones (Delello,
Reichard, & Mokhtari, 2016). Maya and Nazir (2016) stated that smartphone addiction negatively affects
academic performance and leads to the school's negative behaviours (Attamimi, 2011; Walsh, White, Hyde, &
Watson, 2011).

Use of Smartphones among University Students

It is known that university students constitute many of those who adopted smartphones first and made them
widespread (Lee, 2014; Lepp, Barkley, & Karpinski, 2014). Because university students are prone to using
smartphones, they are digital natives, they prefer these devices frequently (Yi, 2016). The use of these devices in
daily life can be useful in almost every area of contact. Students who have experience with smartphones tend to
use these devices for learning purposes. This trend also increases when they feel useful and easy to use for
learning activities (Yi, You, & Bae, 2016). These students use smartphones as learning aids in e-learning and
web-based education (Anshari et al., 2017). Again, these devices help to discover exciting ways of learning
difficult subjects such as mathematics and science with some functions (Katz, 2012). In this respect, it can be
stated that they are useful in concretizing abstract concepts.

University students can access information from the Internet using their smartphones and improve themselves.
Therefore, it can be stated that smartphones are useful tools in education (Almunawar, Anshari, Susanto, &
Chen, 2015). Smartphones can be helpful in instant messaging, access support, and solving a curious problem.
Nowadays, students can easily access information on the Internet, have discussions on social networks, and get
quick answers from their peers, lecturers, and even experts. He also stated that many university students use

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smartphones to study (Gerlich, Browning, & Westermann, 2010). It has even been said that students can use
smartphones to record their lectures, take notes and watch educational videos in the classroom, thereby
increasing student success (Reysen, Reysen, & Reysen, 2020). As can be understood from here, smartphones
have naturally become a tool frequently used by students in education. It can be stated that these devices have
positive effects on students' achievement with their proper use.

The fact that smartphones are mobile and offer different user experiences with more applications every day has
increased these devices' usage rate. Considering that these devices are used effectively in many areas, their
reflections in education should also be seen. In this way, the use of these devices and the applications in these
devices, and their effects on students will be understood. In this context, this study's importance is that the
increase in smartphone users' number focuses on its reflections in education. In addition to some research in this
field (Boase & Ling, 2013; Böhmer, Hecht, Schöning, Krüger, & Bauer, 2011; Deng et al., 2019; Linnhoff &
Smith, 2016; Oulasvirta et al., 2012), it is aimed to contribute to the literature.

In this context, the study aims to determine the periods of less use and examine their effects on students. In this
way, the tendencies of the students in higher education towards these devices can be determined. This will be
useful in understanding the time spent using a smartphone in general and effect on learning processes. Research
questions of the study in line with this purpose:

1. How much time do participants spend daily with their smartphones?

2. What is the average smartphones usage duration of the participants?
3. Which applications do the participants spend the most time with their smartphones?
4. What are the opinions of the participants about their smartphone usage and effecting their learning?

Method

The study was carried out with mixed method. Quantitative and qualitative data collection tools were used in
this study. Creswell (2009) defined the mixed method as requiring the use of quantitative and qualitative
approaches and the results of the study being more meaningful than both qualitative and quantitative research.
From this point of view, the study was planned with the sequential explanatory strategy, which is one of the
mixed design approaches. In the sequential explanatory strategy studies, firstly, quantitative data is collected and
then qualitative data is aimed to explain the quantitative data (Creswell, 2008).

In the quantitative part of the study, the descriptive survey model was used. The descriptive survey model
includes studies aimed at describing a past or present situation fully and carefully (Karasar, 2008). The most
widely used descriptive model is the descriptive survey model (Büyüköztürk, Çakmak, Akgün, Karadeniz, &
Demirel, 2018). The case study was used in the qualitative part of the study. The case study aims to define and
explain an event systematically (Berg & Lune, 2012). The study completed with two stages data. First stage data
were collected using a free mobile application that records the participants' smartphone usage duration. After

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analyzing the smartphone usage duration obtained in this context, online interviews were conducted with some
of these participants for second stage of the study. Semi-structured interview forms used for interviews.

Participants

The study group consists of 34 students at the engineering faculty of a state university in Turkey. The study
group was determined using the appropriate sampling method. An informed consent form was prepared for the
potential participants who were planned to participate in the study to assess the participants. This form contains
detailed information about the study's purpose, duration, the data scheduled to be collected, and how the data
will be collected. In addition to consent forms, verbal announcements were made in classrooms, and details
about the study were shared with potential participants. Students who wanted to participate in the study
voluntarily were informed to communicate with the researchers verbally or by e-mail. After these information,
32 students stated that they would like to participate in the study verbally and two students via e-mail. Totally
34 participant shared smartphone and smartphone applications data. Five of these participants took part in the
pilot study.

Data Collection Process and Tools

Data of smartphone usage and participants’ view were collected within the scope of the study. It is known that
using more than one data collection method in order to increase the quality of the research will be useful
(Denzin, 1984). In the study, data were collected with different approaches, and the risk of limitation and bias of
the study was minimized, and its validity was maximized (Maxwell, 1996). Within the study's scope, first stage
data were collected with the help of a mobile application that determines the smartphone usage duration of the
users. Before starting data collection, the five most used mobile applications in the app market that record users'
usage duration were determined and tested by the researchers. Each application was used daily, and smartphone
usage duration and applications used were monitored. To choose from the applications that have been tried after
the researchers' use; different criteria such as working on different phone models and operating systems, giving
all usage duration instantly, and sorting according to usage duration were taken into consideration in collecting
data.

After the evaluations were complete, the mobile application to be used within the study's scope was determined
by a joint decision. Five volunteer students participated in the one-week pilot study carried out with the mobile
application decided to be used. Within the pilot study's scope, it was tried to determine the students' smartphone
usage duration, the applications they use, and the problems that may arise during use. During the pilot study, it
was decided to use the application as the participants did not encounter any issues. 29 participants used this
application for two weeks. The two-week data of the participants were conveyed to the researchers.

The second stage data in the study were obtained using the interview method, and these data were used to
explain and make sense of the first stage data obtained previously. Interview method, it is expressed as trying to
enter the inner world of a person and understand and comprehend events from his perspective (Patton, 1987).

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Interviews were conducted online with the participants through a semi-structured interview form. The semi-
structured interview form prepared within the scope of this study consists of 11 questions.

The answers given by the students to the interview questions were recorded in a digital environment, and then
textual transcripts of these recordings were made. The text and audio files obtained were checked by an expert
other than the researchers. Texts confirmed by the expert were sent to the participants, and they were asked to
provide feedback if there were parts they wanted to check, add, remove, or correct. Analysis studies were
carried out on the texts sent by the participants.

Data Analysis Process

The first stage data obtained within the research scope were analyzed using descriptive statistical tools such as
frequency and average. Smartphone usage data of 29 participants were analyzed. The second stage data obtained
within the scope of the study were analyzed using the content analysis method. The content analysis aims to
reduce the words in a research text to a smaller number of content categories (Creswell, 2013). In other words,
the necessary process in content analysis is to gather similar data within the framework of specific concepts and
themes and to interpret them in a way that the reader can understand (Yıldırım & Şimşek, 2008). Codes and
themes were determined by the joint decision of the authors. Additionally, some of the participants' views were
given by directly quoting in related theme.

Results

The findings obtained in this study, which was carried out to determine the duration of smartphone usage of
university students, application trends in these devices, and smartphone usage effects were discussed in three
dimensions.

Smartphone Usage

When the user data obtained from the participants for two weeks were examined, the applications' weekly and
daily usage duration were revealed. These obtained data are presented in Table 1.

Table 1. Participants’ Smartphone Usage Durations

Daily Average Daily Average
Individual Weekly Use n
(Hour: Minutes) (Minutes *)
Less than 1000 minutes 3 01:28 88
Between 1001-2000 min. 7 03:15 195
Between 2001- 3000 min. 12 05:43 343
Between 3001- 4000 min. 5 07:24 444
More than 4000 min. 2 10:11 611
Average 05:17 317

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When the data in Table 1 were examined, it was determined that 29 participants used their smartphones for an
average of 317 minutes (05:17) a day. While only 10 of these participants were below the average usage
duration, 12 of them showed a usage close to the average using with 343 minutes (05:43). However, it was
found that five participants used smartphones with an average of 444 minutes (07:24) a day and two participants
used an average of 611 minutes (10:11) a day. The data showing the daily usage duration (minutes) of the
participants is given in Figure 2.

600
Daily Usage Duration Average (min.)

500

400

300

200

100

0
AT11

AT22
AT10

AT12
AT13
AT14
AT15
AT16
AT17
AT18
AT19
AT20
AT21

AT23
AT24
AT25
AT26
AT27
AT28
AT29
AT1
AT2
AT3
AT4
AT5
AT6
AT7
AT8
AT9

Figure 2. Participants’ Daily Smartphone Usage Duration

When the data above is examined, it can be seen that although some participants use smartphones for a short
time daily, very high rates of usage duration of some participants can also be seen. The average daily usage
duration of the participants was 317 minutes. Considering this period, it is understood that 14 participants were
under this period, and 15 participants had a usage above this period.

When these data were compared with the participants' expressions, the statements supporting these data were
reached. In these expressions, intensive usage, which occurs especially due to smartphone and smartphone
applications, comes to the fore. In line with the participants' expressions, it is understood that smartphones are
seen as an essential tool by the participants in the natural flow of daily life. Some of the participant expressions
supporting the data obtained in this dimension are presented below as direct quotations.

AT1: I use the phone often. I am so used to it, and I cannot break it. When I wake up in the morning, the
first thing I think of is the phone. I am looking at the phone immediately. Is there a notification? I check
to see if there is any. I always check the phone before I go to sleep at night. Sometimes I text friends for
hours. I spend more time because of social media.
AT9: I do not use the phone much, but I was shocked to see that I use it 4-5 hours a day in the program I
installed on my phone. So I use the phone a lot.

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AT11: Actually, I use neither too much nor too little. I saw that I used that program for 3 hours a day or
something. I do not think I use it enough to be dependent because some friends use it more than I.

According to the participants' expressions, it is understood that some participants are aware of the high level of
smartphone usage. However, it can be stated that some participants regarded this period of usage as normal
despite intensively usage.

Trends of Smartphone Application Between University Students

Among the most attractive smartphones, planning of daily work, entertainment, communication, internet,
photography, and music tools stand out. To reveal the smartphone application usage of the participants, the
application usage durations were examined. The data resulting from this examination are presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Usage of Smart Phone Applications

Application Category Type of Usage Rate Individual Daily Average
Applications (%) (Hour: Minutes)
Messaging Applications 4 25.17 1:20
Social networks 9 21.89 1:10
Watching and Editing Videos 23 21.06 1:07
Game Applications 19 9.60 0:33
Phone Applications 26 8.24 0:26
Internet Browser 6 3.90 0:12
Taking Note/Reading Stories 2 3.83 0:12
Photo Editing 4 1.88 Less than 10 minutes
Listen to music 14 1.49 Less than 5 minutes
Other Applications 8 0.90 Less than 5 minutes
News Applications 11 0.57 Less than 5 minutes
Shopping Apps 8 0.35 Less than 5 minutes
Application Store 4 0.31 Less than 5 minutes
Access and Editing Files 6 0.27 Less than 5 minutes
Operator Applications 6 0.21 Less than 5 minutes
Bank Applications 8 0.14 Less than 5 minutes
Tarot / Fortune Telling 3 0,11 Less than 5 minutes
Educational Applications 5 0.09 Less than 5 minutes
Total 166 100.00 05:17

According to the data in Table 2, it is seen that the participants actively use many applications. Mostly
messaging, social networks, video watching and editing, and game applications correspond to approximately
77.72% of the time spent on smartphone applications. In other words, participants mostly use their smartphones
for messaging, following or sharing social network accounts, watching videos or editing, and playing games,

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mainly football. Among these applications, it has been determined that messaging applications have the highest
usage duration. These applications are used individually for an average of one hour and 20 minutes a day. Social
network and video applications have been identified among the applications used separately for more than one
hour a day. Game applications have emerged as 33 minutes and phone applications with 26 minutes. After
comparing smartphone application usage duration and participant expressions, it was revealed from the
participants' expressions that messaging and social network applications were used extensively. Although this
intensively usage is not deemed appropriate by some participant families, it was stated that the participants
continued this intense participation. It was also noted that some participants used game applications for hours.
Some participant expressions regarding this dimension are given below as direct quotations.

AT1: I get angry with myself sometimes. Because I spent too much time, I'm recording myself on social
media. I do not understand how time passes. … Again, I cannot control myself.
AT9: I go to bed by phone in the evening. I love playing games on the phone. I often play games at night.
Moreover, I am texting with friends at night on WhatsApp. Sometimes I do not notice the time.

The expressions of the participants regarding their smartphones and applications are striking. Mainly depending
on the usage, the bond's strength that develops between the user and the smartphone over time increases.

Effects of Used Applications on Smartphones

Considering the smartphone usage durations and participants' expressions, it is understood that the students use
smartphones and smartphone applications intensively. When the intended usage of smartphones and smartphone
applications for the participants is considered, two dimensions emerge. These dimensions can be classified as
beneficial use and adverse effects due to over-use. Useful services are stated as taking care of daily tasks,
communication, self-development, doing research, doing homework, and studying for exams. These
applications help to student for organizing their daily life and improving learning processes. Besides, when the
views expressed by the participants due to intensively usage are examined, it is understood that some
participants have physical problems. These problems were reported due to tear, burning, redness, or drying in
the eyes, inability to be aware of time, head and neck pain, insomnia, or sleep patterns. It was stated that some
participants who had sleep problems were negatively affected by being late to the school or having difficulty
concentrating on the lessons. These negativities directly affect the learning processes of the participants.

AT1:… I text friends for hours. Sometimes tears come from my eyes. I have a hard time waking up in the
morning when I text you late. I am late for the first lesson on school days.
AT11:… I take the phone to the toilet and spend time there. I stay a little too long in the toilet. I use a
phone under the blanket in cold weather so that my family cannot see it at night so that they cannot see
the light.
AT25: Sometimes, we play with friends for hours. When we dive into the game, we forget the clock and
sleep late. Sometimes I remember falling asleep in the game.

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Although the participants' statements talk about smartphones' positive functions, the negative results that occur
mostly dominate. It is understood that these negativities continuously occur in the participants.

Discussion

This study is important in giving university students' smartphone usage duration and the rates of smartphone
applications. It tried to reveal the cause-effect relationship between the data by in-depth analysis and continuous
comparison of the study's data. According to the study results, it was revealed that smartphones and the
applications installed on these phones are used intensively by university students. These students adapt better to
adopt and use smartphones than other age groups (Lee, 2014; Lepp, Barkley, & Karpinski, 2014). Considering
this compliance and usage, it was concluded that some participants used smartphones for an average of more
than 10 hours per day. The increase in the duration of use of smartphones over time may cause some problems.
Some of these problems are physical, and some are psychological. Physical problems may arise in individuals
due to smartphones' excessive use (Tamura, Nishida, Tsuji, & Sakakibara, 2017). Although this intensively
usage causes different students' physical problems, students do not change their use intensity due to these
negativities. Because students may display behaviors such as the desire to constantly control their smartphones
and to experience anxiety if they leave the phone (Kocabaş & Korucu, 2018). In this case, it may prevent
students from staying away from smartphones or reducing their usage duration. As a result, discomfort such as
tears, burning, redness, or dryness of the eyes, head and neck pain, insomnia, or sleep disturbance may occur
due to the long screen time. It has been determined that individuals are sleep deprived due to smartphones'
excessive use and spend more time with smartphones than necessary. It was also determined that some
participants with sleep problems were late for the lessons or had difficulty focusing on the lesson (Horwood &
Anglim, 2018).

In line with the participants' expressions, although it was stated that smartphones provide many advantages,
especially education, the results obtained do not support these statements. According to the results, it was
determined that using smartphones for following the educational processes or improving learning is at the
lowest level. There is a decrease in the course material and general performance of students who use a
smartphone other than lessons or learning activities (Anshari et al., 2017). Therefore, using a smartphone that
does not positively affect learning processes can also cause negativity in learning performance. In other words,
excessive smartphone usage causes students to exhibit attention deficit (Delello, Reichard, & Mokhtari, 2016,
2016), decrease in academic performance (Maya & Nazir, 2016), and harmful behaviours at school (Attamimi,
2011; Walsh. , White, Hyde, & Watson, 2011). However, there are cases where university students tend to use
their smartphones for learning (Yi, You, & Bae, 2016), their phones are used as a learning aid (Anshari et al.,
2017), and they make some subjects that have difficulty learning interesting (Katz, 2012) There are also. In such
cases, it can be stated that smartphones are integrated into learning processes.

University students mostly use social and communication applications on their smartphones (Bomhold, 2013).
Among the study results, the most used application types include messaging, social networks, video watching
and editing, and game applications. Among these, the most preferred social network applications, popularize

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smartphones (Aljomaa et al., 2016). Also, smartphones are preferred for internet surfing, entertainment, and
information searching (Deng et al., 2019; Schrock, 2015). For the last decade, social networking sites among
university students have been rapidly increasing worldwide and have become an essential part of young people
(Isha & Sharma, 2018). Studies are carried out to ensure that these practices give positive results in the field of
education. With some reviews, it has been revealed that social networks can be used as practical tools in
education (Arteaga Sánchez, Cortijo, & Javed, 2014; Cain & Policastri, 2011; Norman, Nordin, Din, Ally, &
Dogan, 2015).

Smartphones are undoubtedly used effectively at every stage of life. If this use is not at a controllable level,
there is no doubt that individuals will experience problems depending on the service. The participants'
expressions in the study, such as "I am used to it, I cannot break off, I lose myself, I am not aware of the time, I
cannot think without a phone," are striking. These expressions should be seen as problematic, and therefore, an
attempt should be made to resolve them. Failure to pay attention to smartphone usage can lead to over-addiction
and addiction to mobile technology (Roberts, Yaya, and Manolis 2014). It will be useful to get expert help in
this regard. Otherwise, increasing addiction over time can cause different unpredictable problems. Controlling
smartphones should be considered as a situation that needs attention, especially while sleeping, and as soon as
you wake up. Most people use their smartphones after bed to check and reply to social networks and messages
(Deloitte, 2016). This situation was also detected in the participants in the study. As a result, there have been
adverse effects on the amount and quality of sleep.

Conclusion

Students' physical problems as a result of intensive usage of smartphones and smartphone applications directly
affect their learning processes. Among these problems, there are especially negativities in students' participation
or focusing on lessons. These negativities cause students not to get or have missing learning outcomes expected
from the courses. Even if some students are aware of these negativities, their duration does not decrease, or they
do not ask for help to reduce it. These students continue to use at the same rate. During their undergraduate
education, these negativities related to students' intensive usage may negatively affect their professional
competence. As a result, professional competencies of students may not be at the expected level before
graduation. For this reason, the need to take precautions is a necessity for these students. Otherwise, there will
be losses for qualified learning time. In the precautions to be taken, reducing intensive smartphone usage and
then direct students to applications that improve their learning may be included.

Recommendations

Among the study's recommendations, it can be stated that students' intensively usage of smartphones and
smartphone applications should be reduced. This intensively usage causes different and many physical problems
in students. In addition, students' smartphone and application usage habits should be supported by applications
that support their learning process. In this way, the useful usage rate of smartphones and applications can

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increase. Especially in these processes, it would be appropriate to direct the teaching staff to the applications
they use or thought to be useful if students use them.

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Author Information
Feyzi Kaysi Mehmet Yavuz
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6681-4574 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6218-232X
Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Bingol University
Istanbul Bingol
Turkey Turkey
Contact e-mail: [email protected]

Emrah Aydemir
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8380-7891
Sakarya University
Sakarya
Turkey

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