CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

Transcription

1 26 CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 2.1 INTRODUCTION A literature review is an account of previously published material by experts and researchers in a particular area of interest. The literature review gives the author an opportunity to reference previous research publications to provide strengths and weaknesses of the research. The literature review should provide the author with a base of knowledge from which they will build upon with knowledge that they provide to the area of interest. (Procter, 2004) 32 According to Best A summary of the writings of recognized authorities and of previous research provides evidence that the researcher is familiar with what is already known and what is still unknown and untested. Since effective research is based upon past knowledge, this step helps to eliminate the duplication of what has been done and provides useful hypotheses and helpful suggestions for significant investigation." 33 The various studies included here are classified under the following heads: 1. Gender and mobile phone addiction 2. Symptoms of problematic mobile phone use 3. Usage and attitude towards mobile phone 2.2 GENDER AND MOBILE PHONE ADDICTION Raj, R.G. and Balakrishnan, V. (2012) 34 conducted a study titled Exploring the relationship between urbanized Malaysian youth and their mobile phones: A quantitative approach. The researchers conducted the study using a mixed-mode 32 University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire 20 related%20literature%20index.htm Retrieved on 2/10/ Best, J.W. (2004). Research in Education. New Delhi: Prentice Hall of India Private Ltd. 34 Raj, R.G. and Balakrishnan, V. (2012). Exploring the relationship between urbanized Malaysian youth and their mobile phones: A quantitative approach. telematics and informatics. 29. DOI: /j.tele Page no

2 27 approach involving questionnaire survey and 24-h diaries to gather the relevant data from 417 urbanized Malaysian youth. The study found that most of the respondents of the study use their mobile phones to socialize with their families and friends, with the females doing this more than males. In addition, females also emphasized more on the gossip and safety issues. As for the behavioural issues, the majority of the respondents were found to exhibit addiction symptoms, such as, constantly checking their phones for missed calls/messages and feeling distressed when they do not have their phones with them. However, it is also interesting to note that most of them have never been in debt due to excessive use of mobile phones. Geser, Hans (2006) 35 conducted a study titled Are girls (even) more addicted? Some gender patterns of cell phone usage. The results of the study are as follows; first, girls are much more active in exchanging text messages, while boys are emitting and receiving more audio calls. Secondly, boys tend to spread their phone calls over a larger number of partners, and to use their mobile for enlarging their networks. Girls seem to restrict their communication to a smaller number of more frequently contacted partners. Third, the results support the widespread assumption that females see the phone mainly as a medium for subjective personal communication, while boys emphasize more instrumental functions (e. g. of increasing personal mobility and role coordination). However, there is one instrumental aspect to which women give more weight than males: security concerns. Finally, significantly more women than men have assimilated the mobile phone as a central component of their personal existence: by integrating it into their lifestyle or by becoming so dependent on it that life without it has become unimaginable. More than that: such emotional commitments seem also to be more consequential, because they determine the intensity of cell phone usage more than in the case of men. 35 Geser, H. (2006). Are girls (even) more addicted? some gender patterns of cell phone usage. Sociology in Switzerland: Sociology of the Mobile phone. Retrieved on 2/10/2013

3 28 Hong, Fu-yuan. Chiu, Shao-I and Huang Der-Hsiang. (2012) 36 conducted a study titled A model of the relationship between psychological characteristics, mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones by Taiwanese university female students. The researchers investigated the relationship between psychological characteristics, mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones of 269 Taiwanese female university students. The tools used in the investigation were Rosenberg s self esteem scale, Lai s personality inventory, and a mobile phone usage questionnaire and mobile phone addiction scale. The result showed that social extraversion and anxiety have positive effects on mobile phone addiction, and self-esteem has negative effects on mobile phone addiction. Mobile phone addiction has a positive predictive effect on mobile phone usage behaviour. The results of this study also points out that female university student with mobile phone addiction will make more phone calls and send more text messages. Chóliz M. (2012) 37 conducted a study titled Mobile-phone addiction in adolescence: The Test of Mobile Phone Dependence (TMD ). The sample of the study consisted of 2,833 adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age. The study indicates that girls had a higher degree of dependence on mobile phones than boys did. That is, compared with their male counterparts, adolescent girls had higher levels of tolerance and experienced more interference with other activities, were more likely to use mobile phones to avoid uncomfortable mood states, were more likely to feel bad if they could not use mobile phones, and had greater economic and family problems as a result of the cost associated with mobile phones. Takao Motoharu, Takahashi Susumu, and Kitamura Masayoshi (2009) 38 study on Addictive Personality and Problematic Mobile Phone Use employed the Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale, the Self- Monitoring Scale, the Martin-Larsen Approval Motivation Scale, and the UCLA Loneliness Scale. The study 36 Hong, Fu-yuan. Chiu, Shao-I and Huang Der-Hsiang (2012). A model of the relationship between psychological characteristics, mobile phone addiction and use of mobile phones by Taiwanese university female students. Computers in Human Behaviour. Page no Chóliz, M. (2012). Mobile-phone addiction in adolescence: The test of mobile phone dependence (TMD). Progress in Health Sciences. Vol. 2(1). Page no Takao, M., Takahashi, S., and Kitamura, M. (2009). Addictive personality and problematic mobile phone use. CyberPsychology and Behaviour. Volume 12, Number X. DOI: =cpb

4 29 demonstrated that low self esteem is closely related to problematic mobile phone use and many other kinds of addictive behaviour. The study also reports that depression and alexithymia are important characteristics of excessive mobile phone users. The study found that males tended to call more people. This may be partly explained by a higher level of activity in the daily lives of males. In Japan, male students are more active in part-time jobs and in extracurricular activities; thus, they may need to talk with many people by mobile phone. Beranuy, Marta, Oberst Ursula, Carbonell, Xaview and Chamarro, Ander (2009) 39 conducted a study title Problematic Internet and mobile phone use and clinical symptoms in college students: The role of emotional intelligence. This study was conducted at Ramon Llull University, Barcelona (Spain) with 365 undergraduate university freshmen as sample. The study found that psychological distress in college students is related to maladaptive use of both the internet and the mobile phone. The users show less self-esteem, more loneliness, anxiety, sleep disturbance and depression. The study also shows different patterns of maladaptive use of the new technologies with respect to gender and to major study. First, students of different majors make different use of the new technologies, the students of Journalism and Broadcasting make the most intensive and maladaptive use of the Internet and mobile phone. This could be related to that fact that students of this degree are required to make a more extensive use of the new technologies for academic and professional purposes. Second, the females in the research show more negative consequences of maladaptive mobile phone use than males. 2.3 SYMPTOMS OF PROBLEMATIC MOBILE PHONE USE Yen, Cheng-Fang, Tang, Tze-Chun, Yen, Ju-Yu, Lin, Huang-Chi, Huang, Chi-Fen, Liu, Shu-Chun and Ko, Chih-Hung (2009) 40 in a study Symptoms of problematic cellular phone use, functional impairment and its association with depression among adolescents in Southern Taiwan indicated that problematic cell 39 Beranuy, M., Oberst, U., Carbonell, X. and Chamarro (2009). Problematic internet and mobile phone use and clinical symptoms in college students: The role of emotional intelligence. Computers in Human Behaviour. 25. Page no Yen, Cheng-Fang, Tang, Tze-Chun, Yen, Ju-Yu, Lin, Huang-Chi, Huang, Chi-Fen, Liu, Shu-Chun and Ko, Chih-Hung (2009). Symptoms Of problematic cellular phone use, functional impairment and its association with depression among adolescents in Southern Taiwan. Journal of Adolescence 32. doi: /j.adolescence Page no

5 30 phone use can compromise the relationship with friends or classmates. Adolescents who are fascinated by cell phone use may give up their inter-personal relationships in the real word and focus on virtual interaction with others by sending messages by cellular phones in the virtual world. The study also found that majority of the participants of the study was unable to stop themselves from using their cell even when they knew the health consequences of excessive use of cell phone. The other symptom among the excessive cell phone users is giving up or reducing important social, academic or recreational activities. Perry, Stephen and Lee, Kevin (2008) 41 conducted a study titled Mobile Phone Test Messaging Overuse among Developing World University Students. The study found that a high percentage of mobile phone users among university students were addicted to their mobile phone and such addiction can be damaging to personal finances, productivity, and relationship immediacy where electronic mediation displaces interpersonal communication. The study also found that men were heavier users of SMS messaging than women. Mirza, Anie, Razi Amir, Sikander Muhammad Usman, Shams Usman Bin, Ullah Qazi Rehmat, Suhail Fatima and Mehdi Muntazir (2013) 42 conducted a study titled Addiction of SMS and leading to health problems in youth. The study was conducted in Lahore with 200 samples including male and female. The result of the study shows that majority of the participants are addicted to their mobile phones and majority of the respondents agree that excessive use of mobile phone can lead to many consequences. Yang Hui-Jen and Lay Yun-Long (2011) 43 in a study Factors affecting college student s mobile phone dependence and anxiety found that usage rate has a positive influence on mobile communication anxiety, which indicates that the higher 41 Perry, S., and Lee, K. (2008). Mobile phone test messaging overuse among developing world university students. Communicatio: South African Journal for Communication Theory and Research, 33:2. DOI: / Page no Mirza, A., Razi, A., Sikander, M. U., Shams, U. B., Ullah, Q. R., Suhail, F. and Mehdi, M. (2013). Addiction of SMS and leading to health problems in youth. Global Journal of Management and Business Research Economics and Commerce. Volume 13 Issue 3 Version 1.0. Global Journals Inc. (USA). 43 Yang Hui-Jen and Lay Yun-Long (2011). Factors affecting college student s mobile phone dependence and anxiety. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering and Computer Science Vol II.

6 31 the usage rate is, the higher the communication anxiety is. A person with higher communication usage rate in mobile phone and suddenly reducing the usage rate, his/her motion will become extremely anxious. According to the study anxiety is a vague, uncomfortable, and anxious feeling accompanying with headache, sweaty, palpitations, chest tightness, heartburn and restless situation. Thomée Sara, Härenstam Annika, Hagberg Mats (2011) 44 conducted a study titled Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults - a prospective cohort study. The study group consisted of young adults years old (n = 4156), who responded to a questionnaire at baseline and 1-year follow-up. There were cross-sectional associations between high compared to low mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression for the men and women. When excluding respondents reporting mental health symptoms at baseline, high mobile phone use was associated with sleep disturbances and symptoms of depression for the men and symptoms of depression for the women at 1-year follow-up. The study points out that overuse was associated with stress and sleep disturbances for women, and high accessibility stress was associated with stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression for both men and women. According to a study conducted by James and Drennan (2005) 45 Exploring addictive consumption of mobile phone technology. One of the major negative consequences of addictive mobile phone use is financial cost or really expensive mobile phone bills. Apart from the significant financial issues, study uncovered a wide range of negative consequences for addictive mobile phone consumers such as damaged relationships, emotional stress and falling literacy. 44 Thomée, S., Härenstam, A., Hagberg, M. (2011). Mobile phone use and stress, sleep disturbances, and symptoms of depression among young adults A prospective cohort study. Retrieved on 28/1/ James, D., & Drennan, J. (2005). Exploring addictive consumption of mobile phone technology. ANZMAC 2005 Conference: Electronic Marketing, James.pdf. Retrieved on 28/1/2014

7 32 Chen, Yi-Fan (2006) 46 conducted a study titled Social Phenomena of Mobile Phone Use: An Exploratory Study in Taiwanese College Students. The results of the study showed there were no significant relationships between mobile phone addiction and depression in the sample. Heavy mobile phone users reported better relationships with their friends and family. Heavy mobile phone users also reported that frequent use of their mobile phones adversely affected their academic performance and learning whereas light mobile phone users reported that their academic performance and learning were less negatively impacted by their mobile phone usage. However, respondents who were extremely heavy mobile phone users reported that their mobile phones positively affected their academic performance. The study did not show any gender effects. 2.4 USAGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS MOBILE PHONE Aoki and Downes (2004) 47 conducted a study titled An analysis of young people s use of and attitudes toward cell phones. This study examines college students cell phone usage from a behavioural and psychological point of view. Utilising both qualitative (focus group) and quantitative (survey) approaches. The study found that the participants use cell phone for a variety of purposes like personal safety, financial incentive, information access, social interaction, parental contacts, time management/ coordination, dependency, image and privacy management. Aoki and Downes study based on focus group interviews had indicated five distinct user groups in terms of their attitudes towards their mobile phone usage and in terms of the levels of integrating mobile phones into their lives. The groups are defined as the cost conscious group, safety/ security conscious, dependent, sophisticated, and practical users. The cost conscious users believe that a mobile phone helps them to save money. The safety/ security conscious users are cognizant of their own security and having a mobile phone gives them a feeling of security. The dependent user is a person who is reliant on his/her phone and feels disconnected to the world with out one. The sophisticated users have had their phones for the longest time and feel it is absolutely a necessity for functioning in the 46 Chen, Yi-Fan (2006). Social phenomena of mobile phone use: An exploratory study in Taiwanese college students. Retrieved on 23/1/14 47 Aoki, K., and Downes, E. J. (2004). An analysis of young people s use of and attitudes towards mobile phone. Telematics and informatics, 20 (4). doi: /s (03) Page no

8 33 world. The practical user believes a mobile phone gives cost saving, safety benefits, and time efficiency. Ansari, Moiz.S., Channar, Zahid Ali. and Syed Alisha. (2012) 48 study on Mobile phone adoption and appropriation among the young Generation found that social interactions and entertainment have been the major reasons for users dependency on their mobile phones and devices. Majority of the teenagers used the mobile phone due to its convenience, user friendly, connectivity and using mobile phone promotes a sense of security and well being. Kamran Sohail (2010) 49 study on Mobile Phone: Calling and Texting Patterns of College Students in Pakistan qualitatively investigated the mobile phone calling and texting patterns among youth in Pakistan. Initially, the data was gathered from seventy seven college students aged years, who completed twenty four hours mobile phone communication diaries. Completed communication diaries were followed by twenty three in-depth interviews with the college students to collect detailed background information. Study results revealed congruity of SMS and calling patterns among male and female youth. The study discovered that the majority of youth are extremely high user, fond of texting and low user of voice calls. The study unfolded that the youth do most of the mobile phones communications within their age group, communicate in both positive and negative ways. However, majority of mobile phone communications among youth could be categorized as problematic with reference to the place, time, and purpose. The main motivation of high and problematic use among youth is very low priced prepaid packages offered by the telecom operators in Pakistan. A Common Sense Media Research Study (2012) 50 titled Social Media, Social Life: How Teens View Their Digital Lives found that among all the form of digital communication, texting is the most ubiquitous among teenagers. It is the type of electronic communication that the largest number of teenagers has ever used and 48 Ansaria, M.S., Channarb, Z. A. and Syed, A. (2012). Mobile phone adoption and appropriation among the young generation. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 41. doi: /j.sbspro Page no Kamran, S. (2010). Mobile Phone: Calling and Texting Patterns of College Students in Pakistan. International journal of business and management. Vol 5, No Social media, social life: How teens view their digital lives. Common sense media research. Retrieved on 27/12/13

9 34 the most frequently used. The study also found that daily texting is especially prevalent among girls than boys. Majority of the participants prefer text messaging than any other digital communication because it is easy, fast, it gives them time to think how to respond, it gives them privacy and it is more comfortable and convenient. Chen, Yi-Fan and Katz, J.E. (2009) 51 study on Extending family to school life: College students use of the mobile phones found that the mobile phone is a must for college students to keep in contact with their family. The mobile phone is the primary ICT for the college students to get news, get advice, and receive support from home or to exchange information with family members. The mobile phone seems to be the umbilical cord (Geser, 2005; Spungin, 2006) between college students and family members. Bianchi Adriana and Phillips James G. (2005) 52 study Psychological Predictors of Problem Mobile Phone Use employed the following tools; MMPI-2 Addiction Potential Scale, the Coopersmith Self Esteem Inventory, the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised Short Scale, and a Mobile Phone Use Survey. The following are the findings of the study: first the study found that an extrovert person is more prone to becoming a mobile phone addict than an introvert, as they have a larger number of people in their social networks with whom they communicate regularly. Secondly, the study also points out that people with low self-esteem or negative self views have a greater tendency to seek reassurance and it is not surprising that these are the people who are more likely to use their phones inappropriately. Third, the older people are less likely than younger people to embrace new technology. Younger people are more likely than older people to use the SMS function and other features on their phones. Fourth, Gender appeared to predict type of use. In particular, females are more likely to use the mobile phone for social reasons. However, somewhat paradoxically, males call more people on a regular basis. This may be partly explained by the finding that males were also found to use the mobile phone more for business purposes. Therefore the study 51 Chen, Yi-Fan and Katz, JE (2009). Extending family to school life: college students use of the mobile phones. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies 67. doi: /j.ijhcs Page no Bianchi, A., and Phillips, J.G. (2005). Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use. Cyberpsychology and Behavior. Volume 8, Number 1. Page no

10 35 points to the fact that the appeal of mobile phones is gender neutral. That is, both males and females have embraced mobile phone technology equally. Ravichandran Shanthi Vaidyanathan (2009) 53 study on Mobile phones and Teenagers: Impact, Consequences and Concerns - Parents/Caregivers Perspectives employed a mixed methods approach to explore the research problem. Quantitative data was collected through questionnaires and qualitative data through interviews. The survey and interview participants were parents/caregivers of teenagers aged 13 to 19 years irrespective of their teenager s mobile phone possessions. The parents/caregivers of the study express both positive and negative impact towards teenagers mobile phone usage. On a positive note, parents/ caregivers perceive that mobile phones are very useful devices for communication and co-ordination of activities. They also find that they are compulsory as they are used as safety devices especially in emergencies. Voice and text features are considered as the basic required facilities in teenagers mobile phones by the parents/caregivers. On the negative side, parents/caregivers express that teenagers are addicted and obsessed with texting, while some of the parents/caregivers feel that it distracts the teenagers from their study time and other important activities. Some parents/caregivers hold the service providers responsible for this because of texting plans. Bullying and abusive messages have been perceived as the major problem mediated by mobile phones. Parents/caregivers express that teenagers with their mobile phones are out of control for them. They also add that teenagers lose control over the information enabled by their mobile phones. Stewart Talli R. (2013) 54 study on I can t use my cell phone? cell phone addiction, restrictive social environments and health of college students found that individuals who always utilize Internet on their cell phones reported having significantly higher cell phone addiction scores than those having no Internet access on the device. In other words, excessive internet use might be a mechanism or catalyst by which an individual perceives having a cell phone addiction. The study 53 Ravichandran, S. V. (2009). Mobile phones and Teenagers: Impact, consequences and concerns - parents/caregivers perspectives. Unitec Institute of Technology. 54 Stewart, T. R. (2013). I can t use my cell phone? cell phone addiction, restrictive social environments and health of college students. Graduate Council of Texas State University-San Marcos.

11 36 also points out that group with low cell phone addiction exhibited lower levels of depression than those in the moderate or high groups. Nehra Ritu, Kate Natasha, Grover Sandeep, Khehra Nitasha, Basu Debasish (2012) 55 conducted a study titled Does the excessive use of mobile phones in young adults reflect an emerging behavioural addiction? A total of 212 young adult with a mean age of 21.6 years participated in the study. Findings of the study suggest that on an average young adults use their mobile phone for 3hours/day for making and receiving calls, sending messages and playing games. The study suggests that excessive mobile phone use also should be looked from behavioural addiction point of view and specific criteria should be formulated for the same. The study also indicates that the mobile phone use pattern, especially in those fulfilling addiction patterns has many harmful consequences. Hassanzadeh, Ramazan and Rezaei Abbas (2011) 56 conducted a study titled Effect of Sex, Course and Age on SMS Addiction in Students. The study was conducted in Mazandaran province of Iran. The sample included 345 student of Islamic Azad University. Results of the study showed that there is no significant difference between SMS addiction in male and female. There is significant difference between SMS addiction in students of university with different course or academic groups. There is significant difference between SMS addiction in students of university with different ages. SMS Addiction is currently becoming a serious mental health problem among college students. Cellular phone use (CPU) is an important part of life for many adolescents. Problematic cell phone use may complicate physiological and psychological problems. Acharya Jayanti P, Acharya Indranil and Waghrey Divya (2011) 57 conducted a study titled A Study On Some Psychological Health Effects Of Cell-Phone Usage Amongst College Going Students. Students of both sexes in the age group yrs 55 Nehra, R., Kate, N., Grover, S., Khehra, N., Basu, D. (2012). Does the excessive use of mobile phones in young adults reflect an emerging behavioural addiction? J Postgrad med Edu Res 2012;46 (4). Page no Hassanzadeh, R. and Rezaei, A. (2011). Effect of sex, course and age on sms addiction in students. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research 10 (5). Page no Acharya, J. P., Acharya, I., and Waghrey, D., (2011). Some psychological health effects of cellphone usage amongst college going students. International Journal of Medical Research & Health Science. Volume 2 Issue 3 July Sep. DOI: /j Retrieved on 12/10/2013

12 37 from urban and rural backgrounds were selected at random and administered a pretested questionnaire which included aspects related to few common adverse psychological health signs and symptoms attributed to cell phone over-usage. Headache was found to be the commonest symptom (51.47%) followed by irritability/anger (50.79%). Other common mental symptoms included lack of concentration and academic performance, insomnia, anxiety etc. Ishii Kenichi (2011) 58 conducted a study titled Examining the Adverse Effects of Mobile Phone Use among Japanese Adolescents. A questionnaire was distributed to the respondents and their mothers by the research company staff and was collected later. The sample size was 311 and they were selected by the twostage random sampling method. The results of the study indicated that majority of the respondents preferred to use their mobile phones for short-message services (SMS) and to browse for websites that offered downloads of ringtones, wallpapers, games and music. Only a few of the mobile phone users accessed websites to communicate with friends. The study points out that both female and male adolescents use SMS more often than voice calling. The reasons for using mobile phone for voice calls was to give an urgent message and the reason for using mobile phone for text message service was to coordinate a meeting or appointment. The difference between voice calling and text messaging denotes that the instrumental purpose is selected relatively more often for making a voice call, while the consummatory purpose (e.g., talking without a purpose or killing time) is preferred for text messaging. These results indicate that adolescents use two channels, voice calls and text messages, for different purposes and motivations. A plausible explanation as to why these channels are associated with different motivation is that Japanese adolescents wish to use mobile texting more often than voice calling in order to avoid direct communication with friends. Therefore, if both male and female adolescents are motivated to communicate with friends for an emotional purpose, they are more likely to use text messaging service rather than make a voice call. 58 Ishii, K. (2011). Examining the adverse effects of mobile phone use among Japanese adolescents. Keio Communication Review No Retrieved on 3/11/2013

13 38 Leung Louis 59 conducted a study titled Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self-esteem, addiction Symptoms and patterns of cell phone use. The cell phone addiction index (MPAI) scale was developed to collect responses from 624 adolescents and young adults to identify cell phone addiction symptoms and, as a composite, to assess their level of cell phone addiction. Specifically, the data yield four clearly identifiable factors: inability to control craving, feeling anxious and lost, withdrawal and escape, and productivity loss. The results of the study points out that the cell phone addiction index (MPAI) and addiction symptom sub-scales were inversely related to self-esteem and directly related to sensation seeking and leisure boredom. This means that the higher one scored on sensation seeking and leisure boredom, the higher the likelihood one would be addicted to the cell phone. Conversely, subjects who scored high on self-esteem who perceived themselves as being in control demonstrated less of a tendency to be addicted. While high sensation seekers (HSS) reported more addiction symptoms, those who scored high on leisure boredom experienced only inability to control craving and loss in productivity. Addiction symptoms were found to be the most powerful predictors for features use of the cell phone. Heavy feature users of the cell phone tended to be those who often felt anxious and even lost, experienced a higher sense of losing control without their cell phones, and often received complaints from family and friends. Skierkowski, D and Wood, R.M. (2011) 60 study on To text or not to text? The importance of text messaging among college-aged youth points out that there was a significant difference between individuals identified as high and low text users, although regardless of this distinction, texting emerged as the preferred form of contact among peers within this cohort. A high degree of qualitatively and quantitatively reported anxiety during periods of restriction was also noted, suggested that this behaviour has become an integrated element of daily living for this group. 59 Leung, L. Leisure boredom, sensation seeking, self-esteem, addiction symptoms and patterns of cell phone use. mmunication.pdf. Retrieved on 12/11/ Skierkowski, D. and Wood, R.M. (2011). To text or not to text? the importance of text messaging among college-aged youth. Computers in human behaviour. 28. doi: /j.chb Page no

14 39 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2009) 61 study on The phone connection: A qualitative exploration of how belongingness and social identification relate to mobile phone use amongst Australian youth employed a qualitative focusgroup approach to understand young people s motives for text messaging in Australia. Results indicate that mobile phones are used to enhance feelings of belongingness amongst youth, and that group norms play a large role in influencing texting behaviour. Most youth within this study indicated that texting has become an integral aspect of their daily communicative behaviour, and that among close peer networks; texting is the preferred means of contact. Belongingness and social identity thus emerge as important aspects of the mobile phone experience for young people; belongingness is facilitated through frequent connections with others, which is achieved by leaving one s phone on at all times. Thomee, S., Eklof, M., Gustafson, E., Nilsson, R., & Hagberg, M. (2007) 62 study on Prevalence of perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances in relation to information and communication technology (ICT) use among young adults An explorative prospective study found a positive relationship between frequencies of sent and/or received texts and perceived stress among women, and frequency of text messaging and depression among men. For women, higher numbers of sent and/or received text messages were related to greater perceptions of prolonged stress, measured mostly in terms of restlessness, tension, or preoccupation with everyday problems to the point of night time sleeplessness. For men, engagement in more frequent text messaging behaviour was associated with reporting a greater number of symptoms of depression (defined in this context mostly in terms of perceived hopelessness, and/or loss of pleasure or interest), as well as difficulties falling asleep at night. 61 Walsh, S. P., White, K. M., & Young, R. M. (2009). The phone connection: A qualitative exploration of how belongingness and social identification relate to mobile phone use amongst Australian youth. Journal of Community and Applied Social Psychology, 19. doi: /casp.983. Page no Thomee, S., Eklof, M., Gustafson, E., Nilsson, R., & Hagberg, M. (2007). Prevalence of perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances in relation to information and communication technology (ict) use among young adults an explorative prospective study. Computers in Human Behavior, 23. doi: /j.chb Page no

15 40 Ahmed, Ishfaq, Qazi, Tehmina Fiaz and Perji, Khadija Aijaz (2011) 63 study on Mobile phone to youngsters: Necessity or addiction was conducted among 500 university students in Pakistan to delineate the extent of addictive behaviour towards its usage. The youngsters were selected using simple random sampling technique. The study revealed that, majority of the respondents of the study has definite priorities between their responsibilities and commitments and their cell phone usage. Very few are those who always exhibit the extreme addictive behaviours and the rest is the majority who are not frequently involved in addictive usage patterns. Thus, youngsters use their cell phones under reasonable limits and do not tend towards extreme behaviours leading towards addictive cell phone usage. 2.5 CONCLUSION Review of literature reveals that mobile phone addiction is a common problem prevalent among adolescents and youth world over. Mobile phones have been found to occupy an integral part of their life. However, the literature also reveals that the gender, socio-economic status and choice of course of studies of the adolescents and youth were inconclusive determinants of mobile phone addiction among the adolescents. 63 Ahmed, I., Qazi, T. F., and Perji, K. A. (2011). Mobile phone to youngsters: Necessity or addiction. African Journal of Business Management Vol.5 (32). DOI: /AJBM Page no