ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychol.

Sec. Educational Psychology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1474340

A sociological investigation of the effect of cell phone use on students' academic, psychological, and socio-psychological performance

Provisionally accepted
Xiaoping  TangXiaoping Tang1*Zijun  ShenZijun Shen2Muhammad  Idrees KhanMuhammad Idrees Khan3Qiong  WangQiong Wang1
  • 1School of Economics, Guizhou University, Guizhou, Guizhou Province, China
  • 2Department of Foreign languages, Sichuan University of Media and Communications, Chengdu 611745, China, Chengdu, China
  • 3School of Foreign Languages, Guizhou University, Guiyang, Guizhou, Guiyang, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

This research investigates the relationship between the use of mobile phones in terms of the academic performance and mental well-being of the students who are attending two universities and related high schools in Guizhou province, China. The research aims at gaining insight as to the nature of the relationship between mobile phone use and students' academic, psychological and socio-psychological experiences by using a quantitative cross-sectional survey design. A sample of 300 students (150 students from Guizhou Normal University and 150 from Guizhou University) was chosen for the present study. Information provided by respondents was based on a structured questionnaire scale using five-point Likert scale measuring issues such as mobile phone use habit, academic performance and well-being. To enhance the understanding of these associations, moderating variables, such as age, gender, and academic discipline (STEM vs. humanities) were specified for explaining their impact on the use and impacts of mobile phones on students. The Chi-square and Gamma tests were employed in statistical analysis to investigate the interrelationships among the study variables. The finding disclosed that excessive use of mobile phones for entertainment (social media, music, and messaging) is associated with a negative impact on academic grades and mental illnesses (Gamma = -0.09). In contrast, the use of mobile phones among the students for academic purposes such as accessing educational materials had a desirable academic implication (P=0.01). The study underscores the need for mobile phone usage moderation to increase academic achievement and the well-being state.

Keywords: Mobile phones, Students, academic performance, Social Behavior, Mental Health

Received: 01 Aug 2024; Accepted: 03 Jun 2025.

Copyright: © 2025 Tang, Shen, Khan and Wang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

* Correspondence: Xiaoping Tang, School of Economics, Guizhou University, Guizhou, 550025, Guizhou Province, China

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