Emotional Affinity towards Cell Phones among University Students in UAE

Transcription

1 Emotional Affinity towards Cell Phones among University Students in UAE Investigators: Dr. Radhika Taroora Dr. Mehzabin Ahmedb Dr. Liju Susan Mathewc Prof. Jayadevan Sreedharand Corresponding author. Tel.: ; fax: address: Radhika@gmu.ac.ae

2 INTRODUCTION Cell phones attracts the young generation Innovative and developing technology Tool for communication and emotional interaction An extension of ourselves Mobile phone etiquette Interferes with the learning process Consumer Product Attachment implies the existence of an emotional tie between a person and an object.

3 Ultimate Objective: OBJECTIVES To contribute to the available information and improve efforts made in implementation of attitudinal outcomes in the field of medical education. Immediate Objectives: A. To assess the psychosocial factors influencing students cell phone usage behavior B. To identify the factors indicating cell phone attachment C. To assess the attitude of university students towards cell phone D. To determine the etiquette for cell phone usage among students

4 Study design MATERIALS AND METHODS Cross Sectional Survey Study setting Study duration Sample Instrument for data collection Data collection Data Analysis Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE 1 year 139 entry year health science students Structured Questionnaire Pilot Tested Self Administered Questionnaire SPSS- 20th Version Descriptive statistics and Chi-square test for association

5 RESULTS

6 Socio- Demographic details Total sample: 139 Males 25.2% Females: 71.9% * 2.9% 18 yrs: 54% > 18 yrs : 41.7% * 4.3% By nationality Middle East: 39.6% Asian: 26.6% African: 15.8% Western: 14.4% * 3.6%

7 Number of cell phones owned More than More than 2

8 Reason for possessing a cell phone 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% a necessity everyone has one safety / security emergency contact tool communicate convenient gi? Not Answered 0,7 3,6 0,7 0,7 0,7 0,7 2,9 2,1 Not at all Important 5,8 49,6 1,4 3,6 0 1,4 7,2 33,1 Important 21, ,7 3,6 14,4 28,1 19,4 22,3 Fairly Important 23 15,1 25,9 7,9 22,3 29,5 38,8 17,3 Very Important 48,9 8,6 58,3 84,2 62,6 40,3 31,7 25,2 Very Important Fairly Important Important Not at all Important Not Answered

9 Features Cell phone features that users Very Important Fairly Important Important Not Important No. % No. % No. % No. % Music player Ease of texting Camera Radio Brand Design Cost Model MMS/WIFI iccsbs

10 Reasons for Emotional affinity towards cell phones 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% DOMAINS 1. Identity 2. Attachment 3. Connectivity 4. Recreation/ Hobbies No Disagree No Agree Yes Disagree Yes Agree

11 Mode of Usage of cell phones in class rooms , ,2 3,6 Normal Silent Not Answered

12 Reasons for use of cell phone in academic setting

13 Reason for fighting with parent in regard to cell phone usage 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 67,6 77,7 76,3 75,5 32,4 22,3 23,7 24,5 Talking long hours Buy new phone Poor performance over phone bill Yes No

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15 18 years >18 years Age Fights- talking long hours Fight to buy new phone Blame for poor performance F i g h t o v e r Phone bill Yes No Yes No No. % No. % No. % No. % NS NS NS

16 Etiquettes Followed by Cell phone users Age Gender 18 years >18 years Male Female No. % No. % Signi. No. % No. % Signi. Lower your voice ns ns Avoid personal topics ns** Avoid calls when engaged in a conversation ns ns Take permission to receive a call Avoid texting when engaged in a conversation Avoid inappropriate profile pictures ns ns ns ns ns ns ** Keep a distance when talking on a cell phone ns ns Avoid cell phones while eating ns ns

17 Etiquettes Followed by Cell phone users Age Gender 18 years >18 years Male Female No. % No. % Signi. No. % No. % Signi. Avoid using annoying ring tones ns ns Put phone in a silent mode in public places, classrooms ns ns Avoid using cell phones or use a hands-free device while driving ns ns Offer your cell phone to a stranded person ns ns Use abusive language on cell phone in public place ns ns Intimate conversation on cell phones in public places ns

18 SUMMARY In this study most students felt it was important to have a cell phone for use in emergencies. females more likely to carry cell phones for safety reasons large number indicated possessiveness and emotional attachment to the device MMS/ Wifi feature in a cell phone: rated very important most students carried their cell phone everyday: reflects their dependency

19 The most frequent cause for fights: lengthy conversations and subsequently high phone bill In classroom settings: usually in silent mode evasion of intimate conversations in public places was significantly more frequent among participants <18 years of age

20 IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE An essential tool for communication. The cell phones help: to connect with our friends access information from anywhere be productive and efficient to capture memories be entertained Helps to be more independent by increasing our mobility and freedom Students are one of the most active cell phone users.

21 LIMITATIONS Academic use and effects were not a part of the study Inherent limitations of a cross-sectional survey

22 CONCLUSION Students use cell phone for maintaining social identity, self esteem, security and connectivity with friends and family Emotional attachment to the device and the information stored also leads to a convinced level of anxiety and reassurance in events of loss or emergencies The study of attitude have increasingly indicated their possessiveness and dependence on the device There is a marked difference in the etiquette and usage of device among students in various situations

23 RECOMMENDATIONS The aspect of cell phone use poses many challenges and is an avenue for further research To assess the dependence and tolerance level in academic situation. The necessity to have standardized code of conduct and implement guidelines.

24 REFERENCES Bowlby, J. (1969). Attachment and loss. NewYork, Basic books. Bryant, J. A., Jackson, A, et al. (2006). IMing, text messaging and adolescent social networks. JCMC 11:2. Campbell, S. W.(2007). Perceptions of mobile phones in college classrooms: Ringing, Cheating and Classroom policies. International journal of communication 1: Chen, Y., Katz, J.E. (2009). Extending family to school life: College students use of the mobile phone. IJHCS 67: Chóliz, M.(2010). Mobile phone addiction: Point of issue. Addiction 105:374 Geser, H.( 2006). Pre-teen cell phone adoption: Consequences for later patterns of phone usage and involvement. Sociology in Switzerland: Sociology of the Mobile phone. Hakoama, M., Hakoyana, S. ( 2011). The impact of cell phone use on social networking and development among college students. AABSS Journal 15: 1-20 Hamill.(2005). Mobile world: Past,.Present and Future.USA, Springer Hendrike,N. J., et al.( 2008). Consumer- Product attachment: Measurement and design implications. International Journal of Designs 2( 3) :2-3. Hout,M.( 2009). Sustaining the human object relationship Design and Emotion. Katz, J.E.( 2005). Mobile phones in educational settings. In K. Nyiri (Ed.), A sense of place: The gobal and the local in mobile communication :

25 REFERENCES Koskinen, I. (2008). Mobile multimedia: Uses and social consequences. Handbook of mobile communication studies. In J. E. Katz (Ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press Lee, S., Meszaros,P.S., Colvin, J.( 2009 ). Cutting the wireless cord: College student cell phone use and attachment to parents. Marriage and Family Review 45: Ling, R.( 2002). Adolescent girls and young adult men: Two subcultures of the mobile telephone. Revista de E studios de Juventud 57(2): Ling, R.(2010). Texting as a life phase medium. JCMC 15: Ling. (2010). Texting as a life phase medium. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 15: Meschtcherjakov, A.( 2009). Mobile attachment Emotional attachment towards mobile devices and services. Bonn, Germany, Mobile HCI. Selen,l., Olca, I.L.E.( 2006). Personal and Ubiquitous Computing. Journal of Social Psychology 146( 3): Valor, J., Sieber, S.( 2003). Uses and attitudes of young people toward technology and mobile telephony. Universidad de Navarra Walsh,S. P., White, K.M., Ross, M.( 2008). Over-connected? A qualitative exploration of the relationship between Australian youth and their mobile phones. Journal of Adolescence 31:

26 Emotional Affinity towards Cell Phones among University Students in UAE Radhika Taroor a, Mehzabin Ahmed b, Liju Susan Mathew c, Jayadevan Sreedharan d a Department of General Education, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE b Department of Pathology, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE c Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE d Statistical Support Facility,(CABRI), Gulf Medical University, Ajman, UAE * Corresponding author. Tel.: ; fax: address: Radhika@gmu.ac.ae

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