INFLUENCE OF SMARTPHONE USAGE ON THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF BABCOCK UNIVERSITY STUDENTS IN NIGERIA
Abstract
The study looked into the impact of smartphone use on academic performance in five departments of the Faculty of Information and Communication Sciences at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria. The study was guided by five research objectives and used a descriptive survey design with a questionnaire to collect data.
315 respondents were chosen for the study using convenient sampling techniques. The data collected with descriptive statistics was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22. The data collected revealed that the majority of respondents were females, with 60.1 percent being between the ages of 20 and 24;
that 68.4 percent of the respondents used a Techno smartphone, that 88.4 percent of the respondents agreed that the use of a smartphone improved academic performance, that 76.4 percent of the respondents indicated that smartphone usage caused fatigue and sleeplessness, and that 80.1 percent of the respondents agreed that a change in attitude was necessary.
Finally, the study recommended that the university administration address the issue of insufficient power supply on campus and monitor the use of smartphones for improved academic performance among students at the University of Ilorin’s Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences.
Introduction
Communication and information sharing have taken on a new dimension as a result of technological revolutions, particularly among students at all levels. According to Falayi and Adedokun (2014), the technological revolution has positively influenced the way students communicate and share information, particularly through the use of smartphones.
Similarly, Elogie, Ikenwe, and Idubor (2015) saw smartphones as a universal technology among youths, allowing them to connect socially for personal, educational, entertainment, and other purposes.
According to Elogie et al. (2015), a smartphone is a mobile phone with more advanced computing capabilities and connectivity than basic phone features. Early smartphones typically combined mobile phone features with those of another popular consumer information device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a media player, a digital camera, or a GPS navigation unit.
Smartphones now have all of these features, as well as others such as touch screen computers, web browsing, Wi-Fi, and third-party users such as hotspot and sharing capabilities (Falayi & Adedokun, 2014). According to Alfawareh and Jusoh (2014), Ericsson introduced smartphones in the year 2000 with the R380 model. According to the study, this was the first time that the functionality of a smartphone (a hybrid of a cell phone and a computer) was made available for use.
Smartphones have now largely replaced desktop computers in universities and almost every office around the world. It is arguably taking center stage in academic and other sectors in terms of advancing and easing human activities around the world.
According to Nushrat (2017), the operating system allows the Smartphone to run its applications using different operating systems, such as IOS on the iPhone and BlackBerry on the BlackBerry. Other than the BlackBerry OS, other types of handsets run Google’s Android OS, HP’s web OS, and Microsoft’s Windows Phone.
The first smartphones to achieve mass adoption were released in 1999 by Japanese firm NTT DoCoMo, and they later became common in the twenty-first century, with the majority of those produced from 2012 onwards having high-speed mobile broadband 4G net, motion sensors, and mobile payment features. According to Nushrat (2017), one billion smartphones were in use worldwide in the third quarter of 2012.
As a result, Sarwar and Soomro (2013) asserted that the smartphone has had an impact on almost every aspect of human life since its inception. According to the study, smartphones are used for all regular computer activities such as sharing information, sending and receiving emails, chatting, opening and editing documents, paying for products, browsing, and shopping.
It provides more applications for a broader range of usage situations among university students in their academic performances; they have become an increasingly integrated part of students’ daily lives (Rao, 2012). Students’ use of smartphones has recently improved their lives in a variety of ways.
Academically, wireless internet services that allow access to search engine sites such as Google and Ask have aided in social and academic pursuit; access to social media sites such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Twitter have made connecting to the rest of the world simple and exciting for students.
In addition, multimedia and entertainment services such as camera, music, and games were available to university students. According to Alfawareh and Jusoh (2014), smartphone adoption by mobile users is increasing in many countries around the world. Against this backdrop, this study investigated the impact of students’ smartphone use on academic performance at the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, Ilorin, Nigeria.
The study’s objectives
The primary goal of this study was to investigate the perceived influence of smartphones on perceived academic performance of students at the University of Ilorin’s Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences in Ilorin. Specific goals were to:
1. identify various types of smartphones owned and used by students in the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Ilorin, to improve their academic performance;
2. examine the extent to which students use smartphones to improve their academic performance; and
3. determine the impact of smartphone use on students’ academic performance,
4. identify challenges encountered by students in using smartphones to gather information for their perceived academic performances, and 5. find solutions to the challenges of smartphone selection and use for enhanced academic performance by students.
Questions for investigation
This study was intended to be guided by the following research questions:
1. What are the various types of smartphones that students in the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences own and use to improve their academic performance?
2. To what extent do students in the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences use smartphones to improve their academic performance?
3. To what extent do students in the Faculty of Communication and Information Sciences use smartphones to improve their academic performance?
4. What are the major issues that students face when using smartphones to gather information to improve their academic performance?
5. What are the solutions to the problems associated with students’ use of smartphones to improve academic performance?
Hypotheses for research
In the study, the following hypotheses were tested:
H01: There is no statistically significant link between smartphone use and perceived student academic performance.
H02: There is no significant gender difference in Smartphone use and perceived academic per
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