Problematic mobile phone using among the Polish and Belarusian University students, a comparative study

摘要

Introduction: The use o f mobile phones has increased worldwide during the last decade especially in ado lescents. Purpose: To examine the role of a mobile pho ne in t he student s' life, signs o f addiction, and whether t here are differences in p hone using bet ween t he Polish and Belarusian students. Materials and methods: The st udy comprised 160 student s fro m Belarus and 227 fro m Po land. We used a quest ionnaire included the test of mo bile phone addictio n. Results: Most of the students had the mo bile phones. Of t he students 35.2% from Po land and 68.8% from Belarus were convinced on t he harmful effects of mobile phone. Most respo ndents declared t hat the mobile phone could switch o ff in the t heat re (65.2% from Poland, 30% fro m Belarus), and in the church (60.8% from Poland, 33.8% from Belarus). Of the students, 46% fro m Poland and 28.8% from Belarus knew a mo nophobia d efin ition. The majorit y of respondents from Poland (83.7%) and Belarus (71.9%) have never switched off their phones. Overall, 22.9% of the Polish st udents and 10.4% of Belarusian students had the symptoms of mo bile phone-addict ion. Conclusions: Most students fro m Poland and Belarus were convinced on the harmfu l effect o f the mo bile phone using. More respondents from Po land than Belarus knew that mobile phone users could be addicted. Almo st 1/5 of students from Poland and 1/10 fro m Belarus had the symptoms of mobile phone-addictio n