Non-Instructional Cell Phone Use In College Classrooms: Is Addiction to Blame?

Cell phones are ubiquitous on college campuses. When college students enter classrooms, cell phones do too. Multi-tasking during class by using cell/smartphones for texting or other "silent" uses presents challenges for students and instructors. These practices may be from habit or dependency; dependency may have developed into addiction. The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes and practices associated with college students' use of cell/smartphones and to compare their addiction to the general public. Students (n=127) enrolled in a regional university's selected spring 2016 public health courses completed a 16 item cell phone use survey. Study participants ranked higher than the general public on an addiction scale. Most students (93.7%), reported using cell/smartphones when bored; almost 20% (19.7%) replied it was OK to use cell/smartphones during class sessions if they hide the phone from view. Study results can guide future research and help develop strategies to enhance classroom learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]