Influence of Smartphone Use on Emotional, Cognitive and Educational Dimensions in University Students

The use of mobile devices is one of the increasingly interactive methodologies widely promoted within the European Higher Education Area. It is, therefore, necessary to determine the potential effects of their excessive use on psychological and educational variables. The aim of the present study was to assess smartphone addiction and its relationship with emotional, cognitive, and educational dimensions in university students. Participants comprised 144 university students aged between 19 and 27 years old and studying psychology and education at the University of Granada. Various tests were administered to assess variables grouped into the following dimensions: smartphone addiction (TDM), general intelligence (Wonderlic), emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), motivation (Mape-3), creativity (CREA test), and attitudes toward competencies. An ex post facto design was employed. Direct associations were observed between addiction symptoms caused by smartphone use (withdrawal, tolerance, excessive use, and problems caused by the same) and the variables of extrinsic motivation (fear and avoidance of the task) and intrinsic motivation (motivation toward the task). The results also indicated direct relationships between the problems caused by excessive smartphone use and anxiety and extrinsic motivation toward learning. An inverse relationship was observed between smartphone addiction and the emotional intelligence dimension of clarity of feelings. The anxiety provoked by excessive smartphone use was related to the tolerance generated by such use and to cultural and artistic competencies. The data obtained thus shed light on the effect of smartphone use on emotional, cognitive, and educational dimensions in university settings.