Emotional Affinity towards Cell Phones among University Students in UAE

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.:+971 6 7438333; fax:+971 6 7431515. E-mail address: Radhika@gmu.ac.ae

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.

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

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

RESULTS

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%

Number of cell phones owned 70 60 50 40 30 1 2 More than 2 20 10 0 1 2 More than 2

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 21,6 23 13,7 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

Features Cell phone features that a@ract users Very Important Fairly Important Important Not Important No. % No. % No. % No. % Music player 57 43.8 22 16.9 22 16.9 29 22.3 Ease of texting 90 69.2 26 20.0 12 9.2 2 1.5 Camera 67 51.1 34 26.0 24 18.3 6 4.6 Radio 14 10.7 15 11.5 32 24.4 70 53.4 Brand 54 41.5 27 20.8 24 18.5 25 19.2 Design 59 45.4 33 25.4 28 21.5 10 7.7 Cost 37 28.5 48 36.9 27 20.8 18 13.8 Model 52 40.0 44 33.8 23 17.7 11 8.5 MMS/WIFI 100 76.9 15 11.5 15 11.5 1 0.8 iccsbs

Reasons for Emotional affinity towards cell phones 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 4 7 4 5 4 20 17 20 7 6 14 9 9 10 8 8 7 6 7 4 59 96 93 96 96 93 83 80 94 94 86 91 91 90 92 94 93 96 93 93 DOMAINS 1. Identity 2. Attachment 3. Connectivity 4. Recreation/ Hobbies No Disagree No Agree Yes Disagree Yes Agree

Mode of Usage of cell phones in class rooms 90 80 84,2 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 12,2 3,6 Normal Silent Not Answered

Reasons for use of cell phone in academic setting

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

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. % 27 36 48 64 18 31 40 69 18 24 57 76 12 20.7 46 79.3 24 32 51 68 8 13.8 50 86.2 18 24 57 76 15 25.9 43 74.1 NS NS 0.015 NS

Etiquettes Followed by Cell phone users Age Gender 18 years >18 years Male Female No. % No. % Signi. No. % No. % Signi. Lower your voice 65 86.7 43 74.1 ns 28 80 81 81 ns Avoid personal topics 70 93.3 46 82.1 0.04 32 91.4 86 87.7 ns** Avoid calls when engaged in a conversation 61 81.3 49 84.5 ns 29 82.9 83 83 ns Take permission to receive a call Avoid texting when engaged in a conversation Avoid inappropriate profile pictures 65 86.7 47 81 ns 30 85.7 84 84 ns 53 71.6 45 78.9 ns 27 77.1 73 74.5 ns 69 93.2 52 89.7 ns 32 91.4 90 90.9 ns ** Keep a distance when talking on a cell phone 44 58.7 29 50 ns 18 51.4 56 56 ns Avoid cell phones while eating 41 54.7 30 51.7 ns 18 51.4 53 53 ns

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 59 78.7 47 81 ns 26 74.3 81 81 ns Put phone in a silent mode in public places, classrooms 67 89.3 56 96.6 ns 30 85.7 95 95 ns Avoid using cell phones or use a hands-free device while driving 64 85.3 48 82.8 ns 27 77.1 86 86 ns Offer your cell phone to a stranded person 40 53.3 35 61.4 ns 20 57.1 56 56.6 ns Use abusive language on cell phone in public place 18 24.3 23 39.7 ns 10 28.6 31 31.3 ns Intimate conversation on cell phones in public places 16 21.3 21 36.3 0.05 8 23.5 30 30 ns

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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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.:+971 6 7438333; fax:+971 6 7431515. E-mail address: Radhika@gmu.ac.ae