Papers by Alexander López-Padrón
The advance and development of digital technologies
has led to the smartphone becoming, nowadays,... more The advance and development of digital technologies
has led to the smartphone becoming, nowadays, an
integral part of human existence. This is particularly evident
among the younger generations, who use it frequently in
almost all facets of their lives. However, the disproportionate
and unbalanced consumption of this type of device
can generate a serious impact on their physical and mental
health. This, together with the high employment rates of this
group, means that their use is sometimes labelled as dependent
and addictive. Therefore, this study aimed to identify
the usage profile of university students with respect to the
smartphone and to determine whether it is problematic.
The research involved 350 students in the 1st year of the
Bachelor’s Degrees in Early Childhood Education and
Primary Education at the University of Alicante (Spain). All
of them completed a questionnaire on this topic. The data
were processed with the statistical analysis program SPSS
version 25, with which a descriptive study was carried out.
The findings obtained indicate that, although sometimes the
smartphone becomes a means to avoid loneliness, most of
the participants presented a habitual user pattern linked to
other users or networks. Therefore, from the perspective
of university students, the use of this type of device cannot
be described as dependent or addictive. For this reason,
and considering its potential for learning, we conclude by
stressing the need to integrate it into university classrooms
but foreseeing the risks that its excessive use can provoke.
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Papers by Alexander López-Padrón
has led to the smartphone becoming, nowadays, an
integral part of human existence. This is particularly evident
among the younger generations, who use it frequently in
almost all facets of their lives. However, the disproportionate
and unbalanced consumption of this type of device
can generate a serious impact on their physical and mental
health. This, together with the high employment rates of this
group, means that their use is sometimes labelled as dependent
and addictive. Therefore, this study aimed to identify
the usage profile of university students with respect to the
smartphone and to determine whether it is problematic.
The research involved 350 students in the 1st year of the
Bachelor’s Degrees in Early Childhood Education and
Primary Education at the University of Alicante (Spain). All
of them completed a questionnaire on this topic. The data
were processed with the statistical analysis program SPSS
version 25, with which a descriptive study was carried out.
The findings obtained indicate that, although sometimes the
smartphone becomes a means to avoid loneliness, most of
the participants presented a habitual user pattern linked to
other users or networks. Therefore, from the perspective
of university students, the use of this type of device cannot
be described as dependent or addictive. For this reason,
and considering its potential for learning, we conclude by
stressing the need to integrate it into university classrooms
but foreseeing the risks that its excessive use can provoke.