Effects of Mobile Phone Usage among Primary School Students in City Faisalabad

Abstract

The mobile phone is a modern device that has spread to the world's farthest corners and into the lives of people of all ages. Mobile phones have developed into much more than just a communication tool due to technological advancements. The present research was conducted to investigate the impact of social media usage on academic performance among school students. The study employed quantitative methods and conducted in Faisalabad. According to the School Information System (SIS), there were 111 public primary schools and 2501 PSTs/ESEs. The study comprised all primary school students of the city Faisalabad. Four primary schools namely, GPS Gulistan Colony, GPS 225 RB, MalkhahWala, GPS MC Ramzan Abad and GGPS MC Gulshan Colony were selected randomly. One hundred twenty (120) primary school students (30 from each school) were randomly gathered from the study area. It was found that only 27.5% of primary school students had personal cell phones, while majority of them did not have direct access to cell phones. More than half (51.7%) of the respondents spent up to one hour daily on cell phones.The majority of students (80.0%) perceived that excessive mobile phone usage was contributing to behavioral issues in the classroom, that it adversely impacted their academic performance (74.2%), and that they predominantly utilized their phones for non-academic purposes (70.0%). The overuse of mobile phones significantly impairs children's verbal communication (85.8%), diminishes engagement in group activities, and contributes to social isolation (70.8%). -sConversely, 68.3% of respondents agreed that mobile phones are beneficial learning tools when used appropritely, while 76.7% said that restricting cell phone usage enhances pupils' social behavior. The findings indicated that excessive mobile phone use adversely impacted on students' physical activity (90%), physical health (85.0%), and sports participation (86.7%), while also contributing to increased fatigue (82.5%). There should be need to promote students’ participation in consistent physical exercise and limit their cell phone use during study hours.