In today's society, smartphones have become part of everyday life. Over the years, numerous scientists have developed interest in the concept of smartphone use (which includes social media and/or texting) and its effects on the individual socially and academically. Specifically, since the 1980s, the use of cell phones and smartphones among young adults has been increasing (Harman & Sato, 2011). From then on, young adults have become dependent on their cell phones, which has caused many disadvantages in their social and academic lives (Harman & Sato, 2011; Hassel & Sukalich, 2016; Dayapoğlu, Kavurmaci, & Karaman, 2016). Specifically, young adults have been studied extensively, as they were among the largest demographic to use their smartphones on a daily basis, consequently experiencing the most negative outcomes (Harman & Sato, 2011; Hassel & Sukalich, 2016; Peiró-Velert et al ., 2014). However, the exact role that smartphones play on academic performance has not yet been clearly identified. Therefore, the present study investigated how spending more time on one's smartphone (particularly on social media and/or texting) increases or decreases academic performance? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Academic Performance and Smartphone Use Over the years, the use of smartphones has increased, as a result of the increased use of social media and text messaging, which has caused numerous negative effects on society (Harman & Sato , 2011; Hassel & Sukalich, 2016). Specifically, “any excessive, habitual use or addiction to any media [including cell phones] will generally have negative consequences for individuals” (Hassel & Sukalich, 2016, p. 2). This highlighted that young adults have become so accustomed to using their smartphones that there have been obstacles in their life satisfaction, due to their need for the smartphone (Hassel & Sukalich, 2016). Hassel and Sukalich (2016) aimed to determine how the use of smartphones (particularly social media) affected the lives of college students, regarding their academic performance and behaviors. Researchers tested 234 undergraduate students at a university in the United States of America, using self-report surveys, to determine the role of social media in their lives, their individual behaviors, as well as their academic performance (Hassel & Sukalich , 2016). It has been mentioned that at the college level, instead of focusing solely on class, young adults use their smartphones or other electronic devices (Hassel & Sukalich, 2016). Therefore, researchers found that smartphone use (particularly social media) had a negative effect on academic performance, as well as their attitude toward academia (Hassel & Sukalich, 2016). A negative effect on overall life satisfaction has also been found regarding declines in academic performance, as a result of increased social media use among young adults (Hassel & Sukalich, 2016). Similarly, in a relevant study, Harman and Sato (2011) examined how college students' cell phone use was related to their academic performance. Researchers studied 118 college students, ages 18 to 39, completing a self-report survey (Harman & Sato, 2011). Some categories of questions asked in the survey as part of the research design included: “Average number of people texting per day”;“Average number of SMS sent/received per day”; and “Comforting Text Messages in the Classroom,” among many other questions (Harman & Sato, 2011). Therefore, a negative effect on academic performance (overall grade point average) was found due to a greater amount of time spent texting (Harman & Sato, 2011). Specifically, a decrease in academic performance was related to the amount of text messages sent and received (Harman & Sato, 2011). Furthermore, in a similar study conducted by Dayapoğlu, Kavurmaci and Karaman (2016) studied how the use of a cell phone would challenge the social and academic aspects of life, particularly in a nursing student sample of 353 participants. To collect data, researchers administered a 4-part questionnaire to participants, which assessed their social and academic skills (Dayapoğlu, Kavurmaci, & Karaman, 2016). Results demonstrated that nursing students who used cell phones more often experienced various negative repercussions, including increased feelings of loneliness, as well as decreased overall academic success (Dayapoğlu, Kavurmaci, & Karaman, 2016). Regarding this literature, it was evident that the use of smartphones had a negative impact on the lives of young adults, due to their decline in academic performance, as well as various other negative consequences. Gender and smartphone use Furthermore, gender differences were present for men and women. female use of smartphone. In a study conducted by Periò-Velert and colleagues (2014), researchers aimed to determine how cell phone use was related to both male and female sleep habits, as well as academic performance. A large sample of 3,095 Spanish participants, aged between 12 and 18, was studied in order to collect data on this topic (Periò-Velert et al., 2014). The researchers tested these participants using questionnaires with 15 prepared variables, in order to obtain information on the differences between males and females (Periò-Velert et al., 2014). The results showed that males were more likely to use mobile phones to play games, while females were more likely to use mobile phones to communicate with their friends (Periò-Velert et al., 2014). Regarding sleep, on average females slept more than males (Periò-Velert et al., 2014). Furthermore, females had higher academic achievement than males, due to the fact that they slept more and spent less time on their mobile devices than males (Periò-Velert et al., 2014). Ultimately, these gender differences demonstrated how increased sleep and decreased cell phone use led to improved overall academic performance. Classroom Policies and Smartphone Use Next, classroom policies regarding smartphone use should be implemented in schools due to increasing cell phone use among adolescents and young adults. Lee, Kim, McDounough, Mendoza, and Kim (2017) studied how different procedures regarding cell phone use in the classroom affected academic performance and how young adults regulated their emotions. Researchers conducted a series of experimental conditions in which participants were either permitted to use cell phones or not during class (Lee, Kim, McDounough, Mendoza, & Kim, 2017). Participants then completed a series of tests on the newly learned material (Lee et al., 2017). Therefore, it was found that participants in the conditions in which they did not have cell phones during class lecture performed better on the tests than participants in the conditions that were allowed to keep their cell phones (Lee et al., 2017). From then on.
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