Volume 4 Issue 1

Content Vol. 4 N 1, 2018
 
Pages 1 - 20

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Smartphones Use, Dependency and Addiction Predictors among Moroccan University Students. Mohamed Mliless*, Mohammed Larouz;  Inter. J. Acad. Stud; 4(1):1-20

Abstract:

Smartphones are hybrid technological devices which incorporate communication and computing. Despite their beneficial functions, they have negatively influenced students’ social and learning environments, an issue that remains less investigated in the Moroccan context. To explain  their problematic use and to investigate addiction and dependency predictors among Moroccan students, this study uses a questionnaire which was distributed to 254 English department students and 250 students pertaining to the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Arts et Métiers (ENSAM). Their age ranged between 19 and 22 years. Indeed, students’ attitudes were investigated regarding the effects of smartphones on their overall well-being on the level of i) the content for which smartphones are used, ii) the activities/uses of social networks sites, iii) the length and duration of use in day and night time, and finally iv) the effect of the device on students’ social and learning outcomes. The results of the study reveal that a) students share a big amount of internet content via smartphones, b) they use smartphones to connect to different social networks sites, c) students’ day and night frequency and duration of use are long, and d) they hold negative attitudes towards the impact of the tool on their social and learning outcomes. Eventually, this study has important implications for future researchers and students in order to consider the impact of the device on students’ social relationships, their academic achievements, and their psychological and health well-being. 

Key words:
Addiction, Dependence, Smartphones, Social networks sites.

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