Cell Phone Usage Linked To Reduced Happiness, Poorer Grades and Anxiety Among Students

Frequent use of cell phones can lead to reduced happiness, poorer grades and anxiety among students, a new study finds.

On surveying more than 500 university students, Kent State University researchers found that students, who used cell phones frequently performed poorer in academies, were less happy and experienced a lot of anxiety compared to their peers, according to a press release. Owing to the growing use of mobile phones by teens, researchers conducted this study to see whether the usage had any impact on the students' general academic performance and physiological state of mind.

Researcher recorded information regarding daily cell phone usage among these college students and compared the data to that of self-reported anxiety, life satisfactions and level of happiness. The authors of the study even got permission to access the participants' academic records to retrieve their actual, cumulative college grade point average (GPA). All participants were undergraduates ranging from freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors.

Results of the study showed that frequent usage of cell phones had a negative impact on the student's GPA, leading to anxiety and a reduction in happiness levels.

An earlier study conducted in July this year found a link between extensive cell phone usage and poor fitness. While the device facilitated "on the go" communication, it also led to more sedentary lives, according to a NY Daily News report.

"The possibility that cell phone use may encourage physical activity among some low-frequency users while disrupting physical activity and encouraging sedentary activity among high-frequency users helps explain the significant negative relationship between cell phone use and cardiorespiratory fitness identified in this study," the report quoted the authors as saying.

These days it's impossible to get teens off their phones. They use it to text, send pictures, chat and browse the Internet. The launch of new instant chat messaging services has made this craze of cell phones even bigger. According to statistics, 90 percent of Whatsapp users check their messenger every 10 to 15 minutes. In fact, the usage is so high that a study conducted on the same reported that it can actually destroy relationships.

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