The Impact of Smart Phone Among University Students

The Impact of Smartphone among University Students
Draft

JOANES, J., & ABDULLAH, A. S.
Key words: Smartphone, Technology in Education, Social Impact, Addiction, Health.
TERM PAPER
This paper presents a research written by students over an academic term, accounting for a
large part of a course. The intention of this research is to explores how the impacts of
Smartphone among university students life.
Date
18 Dec' 14
Checked
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Norazman, A. M.
University of Technology Malaysia

Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia.
Lately, technology has been raised rapidly simultaneous by the new technology era.
There are plenty of gadgets is created by the inventor. One of the gadgets is smartphones. This
device is viewed as an important communication tool and had become an integral part of the
world society. Then, these smartphones become popular among university students because
interest this high-tech device. On top of that, students are able to use smartphones for many
purposes by their own way. For example, the student may use a smartphone in their access
some information, communicate with friends, do some in daily activities and in addition for
their studying. In European Journal of Scientific Research, Muhammad & Tariq, (2013) state
that smartphones are used widely by university students. So, this drastic growth of
smartphone use by university students on campus has impacts that are obvious include
education, health and social life. This smartphone has affected students in many ways either
positive or negative.
Firstly, students use this device for their studying because these smartphones can give
benefits to them. For example, students are able to search any kind of information or
something that related to their study by internet just on the smartphones. This encourages them
to seek some information such as note, journal, articles, encyclopedia and many more as a
reference. According to Norazah, (2013) information is easy to access with the smartphones
and its constants connectivity to the internet. This can help them to finish their project, thesis,
assignment and tutorials. Moreover, students can save their time to find references from the
library. So, with smartphones it only takes few taps and student could discover bundles of
information on countless topics making learning easier. More than ever, they using
smartphones in their life in campus, on the bus, waiting in the line and so on. In the other
words, smartphones have become part of students life on campus where they are using of this
device for. Somehow, smartphones become close friends to students.
The Impact of Smarthphone among University

Students
In the same way, students who have smartphones can avoid from using stationery for
their studying. These devices somehow help students to take notes without pen and paper.
Nielsen & Webb, (2011) have said phones are great for take notes when you are away from
the computer or when pen and paper would be in the way. In addition, students can write with
s pen smartphone on a smartphone for their note, writing and reading. Then students can
read inside the device where this can increase students reading speed. So, student able to
practice the reading at any time with the books they can carry around in their backpacks or
pockets. Furthermore, students use apps (e.g. Voice Recorder, Audio Recorder ) to recording
voice lecturer in class to encourage less use of pen and paper. The device help students easy,
faster and save time than writing down the note of lecture for what they study. It can be used
as a emergency tool when the pen and paper is need right on that time. This is one of
development of technology that inventor solves the problem.
Learning process in study need of remembering of facts, theory and so many notes that
involves of capabilities of memories. There are two types of student: those who insist on
handwriting and those insist on typing to taking notes. Mueller & Oppenheimer, (2014), said
students who write out their notes by hand actually learn more than those to typing their
notes. This is because the take notes using pen and paper boosts memory and the ability too
retain and understand more of the knowledge. In general, students with hand-writers ended up
with a stronger conceptual across the board. In other words, students memories for factural
detail, conceptual comprehension and synthesizing capabilities more good when student use
pen and paper for studying and also the process of learning. So, even the smartphones can
avoid pen and paper, but still students cant resist the benefit for using those tools in studying.
The high tech is used widely but the conventional tool is remain constant in the future.

Students
The device has built the connection of students social life becomes drastically
changed. Today, as we seen there are lot that has been changing by this smartphone. The main
function of this device is used as a communication. The connection among student may
correlate more too each other. In addition, it also helps students able to connect with their
family and friends at all time. There is no reason for aspect lives far to getting connected to
each other. In campus life, students able to integrated in association. In fact, it may decrease
passive attitude among students to involve in association. According to Muhammad & Tariq
(2013) smartphones are capable to give some group of students the opportunity to live more
independently. Nowadays, there are plenty of applications in smartphones that are use as
communication tool such as WhatsApp, WeChat, LINE, Skype, Facebook and so on.
Additionally, smartphones provide internet services in all time and student should be able to
visited social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook.
For this reason, most of the students have account for social media sites. At the same
time there some deficiencies or negative for using this high-tech device. It helps a lot as a
communication purpose but there is certain individual abuse for this facility by harassing
personal or community in social media sites such as Twittter and Facebook. Muhammad &
Tariq (2013) stated smartphones can encourage bullying and hazing also. This is serious
problems in schools even in university across many countries including Malaysia. This led to
create a conflict through students and decreases the relationship of community. So, what
happen here is students able to write, comment, cheat and also stalking through the social
media sites. Social media sites have captured the imagination of students (Hingorani.,
Woodard., & Danesh, (2012). From social sites, studens able to express their feeling which at
same time led to conflict issue. Meanwhile, with the social networking effects of the
smartphone, concentration in the lecture is lost.

Students
Smartphones can cause harm to students health including psychological well-being.

This kind of effect is presented that smartphones control the life of students. It makes this
device are so important to them and they feel like cannot survive without it. This happens
when every time students become busy with their smartphones, and somehow very hard to put
their smartphones down. This situation can be see on the bus, waiting in line, on the treadmill
and even while driving or on motorcycle. If those effect that changed the altitude or habits
become worse, it cause indirectly endanger their life. Furthermore, many students often check
their smartphones before getting out of bed in the morning. They also do so while in bed at
night before they fall asleep. Smartphone became one of the most important thing in student
life and without this device, it can arise emotional problem among student. According to Bulck
(2013) report that addictive mobile usage could be disturbance in student sleeping. So, from
that, we can see smartphone has influence time to bed and still lead to interrupted sleep.
However, smartphone have much applications that involve on health such as Nike run
jogging application, calibration of calorie by the exercise work, workout trainer, Fitness and so
on. Although the negative impact of this device for health aspect, there are also give the
positive impact. The positive is when this device applies on positive usage in their healthy life.
So, if the students apply those things in their life, it can make a healthy life by using that
intelligent device. Many apps that involved on health aspect was created by programmer
nowadays. Smartphone apps very useful as these apps assist healthcare said Muhammad &
Tariq (2013). So, there are no reason to blame on smartphone which cause negative impact on
students health. Its depending on how student used it in their life. In fact, we accepted that
there is more negative impact than the positive in context of student health, but there are not
fair if we make conclusion as the smartphone cause negative impact in student health, because
smartphone also provided a positive impact for student health in their life.

Students
Students become lack in real conversation when face to face situation. Now, most of
the students have their own smartphone. Probably students used their smartphone for
communication purpose to easily to contact their friends. Other than that, student also just
contacts their friend even though they is near to each other. Furthermore, this technology
device reduces students in community life. Student become lonely with their smartphone (in
room) and dont want to hang out with their friends, family and community. From the
communication applications on the smartphone which is Whatsapp, WeChat, LINE and so on,
student able to contact their friend or classmate by the group of conversation with all those
applications. From this case, skills of communication such as interaction, discussion with
others students become less. According to Tran (2012) smartphone usage has a social
influence on smartphone users. Students spend too much time in communication on their
device and ignore the face to face conversation among them.
By the way, students have a chance to communicate among their friends by using
many apps on smartphone. From that, positive impact also appeared in this aspect. Simple
example is the easiest way to keep in touch with other friends. Student that live outside the
campus or far away is be able to contact by this device. Moreover, students will be able to
access simple voice mail message: Google voice, texting, notes, pictures message. There are
also have apps which are video call such as Skype, WeChat, Oovoo and many more on the
smartphone. It can grow the relationship all of time among students. Nielsen & Webb (2011)
said cell phones open a new world of tools that can be accessed and used for accommodations
required to serve students with special needs. Furthermore, with applications like Skype,
Video Call and more, it also closed up students to have face to face conversation also through
the fantasy of creation due to engineering technology. In other opinion, it didnt mean that with
this stuff can change the altitude students in their life being.

Students

Students
Another effect of device technology like smartphone is student technological

addictions. Technology addictions are defined as worse behavior, which interact interest in the
components of devices that can have inducing and strengthen such as tolerance, withdrawal,
interference and relapse. A service of technology is fueled by trying to prevent mentally and
socially life. This have consciousness of technology addictions of the students and also in
communities. This is also have mention in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental
Disorders by American Psychiatric Association (APA) in May 2013, officially recognized
behavioral addictions for the first time and recommended further research into existing
technological addictions for later inclusion. Some of study show contributing factors that make
digital media, such as the internet and smartphone attractive and often addictive (Lee et al.
2014). Excessive usage may follow subsequently, possibly due to deficient selfregulation.
Self-control becomes limited when students sit next to their smartphone. Students
expressed hard to control the use of their smartphones. Students always wanted to check out at
any time. In that case, student didnt realize about their smartphone used when at the moment
they without any sense of time. Students become too aware what is new updates in their social
networking like KakaoTalk, Viper, Facebook, and others social networking where they always
spend too much time in checking if there any something new. We have seen that students
showed limited self-control, particularly when consuming online content aimlessly following
web or Facebook links while in bed (Lee et al. 2014). In other way, students are heavy user of
smartphone because of reflected communication nowadays use most of this type internet
communication. In this case, students cant control themselves when there are new product or
version of smartphone release day by day from manufacturers and marketing. In the same way,
these attitude led to their financial wastage of study.

Students
In closing, we can see that increasingly students own smartphones on campus for their
learning and studying has sizeable impacts. It is true that the smartphone is potential of
personal technologies among students and become the norm on campus. Smartphone are used
widely by university students (Muhammad & Tariq (2013). The growth of usage device by
university students has impacts to their education, psychological and social life. The device
usage can have positive and also negative side. The most important is students begin using
their smartphone for their learning process in university. This because they appreciate the
benefits and further possibilities that exist within their current frames the reference.
So, where is the negative of the device? It happens when using the smartphone in
lecture, where it become distracted, there are plenty of application in smartphone where
student spend their time for. There is some word; polluting classroom with disruption
meaning the constant texting and receiving messages and calls (or voice call) not only disrupts
the lecture but it also interrupts the whole class. Use of smartphone by students in the
classroom is a major challenge to most lecturer and so professors. Students become less focus
on their assignment, assessment and tutorial for study.
The speed of the internet connection at the university and the availability of Wi-Fi
services become important for smartphone applications. The technology cause harm to
students when it includes health including psychological well-being. Manufactures and
marketing can be blamed for this hype, but there is no doubt that smartphones are brining
great features and capabilities to students. However, in order to understand the positive and
negative impact of smartphone it is very important to educate the students on how to use
smartphones smartly. The education should emphasis to come out with the positive impacts
and highlight the negative impacts clearly so that the users can take advantages of this exciting
technology.

Students
REFERENCES
American Psychiatric Association (18 May 2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of
Mental Disorders. (5th ed.) San Francisco. American Psychistric Association
Hingorani, K., K.,Woodard, D., & Danesh, N.,A.,
(2012). Exploring how smartphone
support students lives. Alabama State University.

Jan Van den Bulck (2003). Letter to the Editor: Text messaging as a cause of sleep
interruption in adolescents, evidence from a cross-sectional study. European Sleep
Research Society.
Muhammad, S., &Tariq, R.,S., (2013). Impact of Smartphones on Society. European Journal
of Scientific Research.
Norazah Mohd Suki, (2013). Students dependence on smart phones. Campus-Wide
Information Systems.Vol. 30 Iss 2 pp. 124 - 134. Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Nielsen, L., & Webb, W., (2011). Teaching Generation Text. Jossey-Bass. San Francisco.USA.
Pam, A., Mueller & Daniel, M., Oppenheimer (2014). The Pen Is Mightier Than the
Keyboard: Advantages of Longhand Over Laptop Note Taking. Psychological Science.
DOI: 10.1177/0956797614524581.
Sheeren, N., Z., & Rozumah, B., (2009). Mobile Phone use Amongst Students in a University
in Malaysia:Its Coorelates and Relationship Psychological Health. European Journal
of Scientific Research.
Tinch Duc Tran (2012). The social influence of smartphone usage. IT Univesity of
Copenhagen.
Uichin Lee., et al.(2014). Hooked on Smartphones: An Exploratory Study on Smartphone
Overuse among College Students. ACM. http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2556288.2557366.

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Joanes, J., & Abdullah, A. S.

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