Outcomes of Smartphone Use Dependency among Students in Selected Universities in Kiambu County, Kenya

The excessive use of smartphone has been found to affect the well-being of university students. The current study aimed to examine the outcome of smartphone use dependency among university students in selected universities in Kiambu County, Kenya. The study adopted embedded mixed method research design. The study population comprised 1,350 students, from which a sample size of 303 participants was derived using the Krejcie and Morgan formula. A simple random sampling technique was employed to select a sample size of 303 participants. The data on outcome smartphone use dependency was collected using a questionnaire. In addition, qualitative data on outcome smartphone use dependency from the key informants was collected using Interview Guide. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and qualitative data was analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings showed the outcome of smartphone use dependency to be mental health issues (37.1%), sleep fewer hours (48%), detachment from friends (40%) and extreme worry (25.4%). The themes for outcome of smartphone use dependency were addiction to pornography, masturbation, poor performance, gambling, femicide and sleep disturbance. The study recommends that university administration need to offer workshops and seminars to educate students on smartphone use effect on mental health challenges, coping mechanisms, and available relevant services. Also, the study recommends an environment to be created in which the students feel free to communicate their concerns and difficulties. This can be accomplished through peer support groups or mentoring programs that improve the overall students well-being. University students may need to be encouraged to spend some quality time with their friends and family rather than spending several hours on smartphone screens. Finally, efforts need to be made to encourage face-to-face encounters in the study groups rather than depending primarily on digital communication via the smartphone.

Outcomes, smartphone use dependency, University students, Kiambu, Kenya

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