Fundamentals of Mental Health

Fundamentals of Mental Health

Investigating the effect of mobile phone use on students' attention span and academic performance

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors
Masoud Siyami 1
Mitra Rastgoo Moghadam 2
Khorshid Akbari Avaz 3
1 Ph.D. student in educational psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 Assistant professor, Department of Education, University of Birjand, Birjand, Iran.
3 Payame Noor University, Isfahan, Iran,
10.22038/jfmh.2023.23043
Abstract
Introduction: In this study, we aimed to investigate the impact of mobile phone use on high school students' attention spans and academic performance.
 
Materials and Methods: In this causal-comparative study, 120 students of art high schools in Darmian city-Iran, were selected using purposive sampling. They fulfilled the mobile phone addiction questionnaire, a computerized Stroop test, and academic performance test. Data were analyzed using the descriptive statistics, and one-way analysis of variance.
 
Results: The findings indicated a significant relationship between mobile phone use and attention, and academic performance (P< 0.05). Specifically, increasing students' mobile phone use correlated with decreased attention and lower academic performance. Moreover, mobile phone use affected academic performance differently across practical and theoretical lessons.
 
Conclusion: Overall, our study highlights the potential negative impact of excessive mobile phone use on students' attention and academic performance.
Keywords
Academic performance
Attention
Mobile phone addiction
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Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 25, Issue 4
July and August 2023
Pages 271-277